Former Purdue Diver David Boudia Leads 3-Meter Olympic Trials Entering Sunday's Finals
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Former Purdue diver David Boudia has the lead in the 3-meter at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials entering Sunday's finals. He has put himself in position to qualify for the Olympic Games for the fourth time in his career.
On Wednesday, Boudia earned a two-list score of 889.70. He leads the rest of the competition by 15.5 points and holds a 16.15-point lead on third place. The top finishers in the event will earn Olympic bids for Team USA.
Scoring for the trials is cumulative over three lists. Sunday's 3-meter final is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. ET live on NBC.
"This is my first Olympic Trials on the 3-meter," Boudia said. "I haven't dove in a high-pressure situation since 2019. It's just a little different; the training wasn't as ideal as I wanted. I think the hardest part was getting through the prelims and semifinal. Obviously, I have a little lead, but going into the finals, I have absolutely no lead with that mindset, so I start back at zero with everyone else but stay consistent like tonight."
Incoming Purdue diver Tyler Downs is currently sitting in fourth place with a score of 869.90 after two lists. He is in position to qualify for the Olympics on Sunday. Downs also qualified for the 10-meter final, an event where Boilermaker diver Brandon Loschiavo built a 50-point lead on Tuesday.
Boudia won the 3-meter morning prelim with a score of 434.50 before finishing in fourth place in the semi-final while recording a score of 455.20. He improved his score by 20.7 points while producing 11 dives of 65 or more points.
"It was a blast during the prelims yesterday with the men's 10-meter platform," Boudia said about Purdue's presence at the Olympic Trials this year. "I think the first two rounds were all top 4, all Purdue. I think that was pretty fun to see. Tyler Downs diving right before me, putting on pressure. It's just exciting for the future of Purdue diving. I'm excited to work with the young guns and hopefully get them ready for competition alongside Adam (Soldati)."
If Boudia successfully qualifies for the Olympics this year, he will be the first American diver since Troy Dumais to be a four-time Olympian. Dumais qualified for the 3-meter all four times.
Purdue's Schedule at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials — Diving
Saturday, June 12 (Live on NBC, NBC Sports App)
• Men's 10-Meter Final at 7:35 p.m. — Jordan Rzepka, Tyler Downs,
Sunday, June 13 (Live on NBC, NBC Sports App)
• Men's 3-Meter Final at 6:35 p.m. — David Boudia, Tyler Downs
• Women's 10-Meter Final at 8:50 p.m. — Maggie Merriman
Stories Related to the Olympics
- ANNIE DREWS ON THE US VOLLEYBALL TEAM: Former Purdue star Annie Drews is the first Boilermaker volleyball player to be selected to the United States Olympic team. CLICK HERE
- NIKOLA ACIN QUALIFIES FOR OLYMPICS: The Purdue men's swimming record holder in the 100-yard freestyle qualified for the Olympics as a member of the Serbia 4x100 freestyle relay team. CLICK HERE
Become Part of the Boilermakers Country Community!
- Follow D.J. Fezler on Twitter: @DJFezler
- Follow BoilermakersCountry on Twitter: @sports_purdue
- Like and follow BoilermakersCountry on Facebook