Indiana University Athletics
Wilkinson to Make Appearances
1/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
January 6, 2003
Olympic Gold Medallist
to Make Public Appearances
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Bloomington, Ind. - The 2000 Olympic gold medallist in platform diving, Laura Wilkinson will be making several public appearances in Bloomington this week as Indiana University hosts the prestigious Speedo American Cup from January 7-12.
After upsetting the highly favored Chinese women in the 2000 Olympics, Wilkinson, 25, was widely recognized as the media darling of the XXVIIth Olympiad. Shortly following the Olympics, she was one of only three Olympic champions to be individually featured on a Wheaties box. Despite breaking bones in her right foot only months prior to the 2000 Olympics, Wilkinson nailed her final two dives during the 10-meter platform final to win the gold medal, the first for the United States in that event since Indiana University's Leslie Bush won the gold on platform at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Wilkinson currently dives for The Woodlands (Texas) Diving Team and is coached by Ken Armstrong.
Wilkinson will be featured at the following public events:
Wednesday, January 8
Wilkinson will be Joe Smith's halftime guest during the IU Radio Network broadcast of Indiana's Big Ten basketball opener vs. Penn State at Assembly Hall in Bloomington. The game is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. tipoff and the interview will take place about three minutes following the completion of the first half.
Thursday, January 9 (SRSC Auditorium, 6:00-7:00 p.m.)
Sponsored by Speedo, Wilkinson will be available at the Student Recreational Sports Center from 6:00-7:00 p.m. The SRSC is located at 1601 Law Lane on the IU-Bloomington campus and Wilkinson will be available for a question and answer session and for autographs in the SRSC Auditorium, which is located across the corridor from the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center. Individuals who attend this event are eligible for ticket giveaways and 1/2-price discounts to the 2003 Speedo American Cup.
Saturday, January 11 (SRSC Auditorium, 6:15-7:15 p.m.)
Wilkinson will be available for autographs in the SRSC Auditorium (1601 Law Lane) from 6:15-7:15 p.m. prior to the Saturday evening session of the Speedo American Cup.
All sessions are free and open to the public. For more information, call (812) 856-5105 or e-mail americancup2003@hotmail.com.
WHAT: Speedo American Cup
Divers were invited to participate in the Speedo American Cup based on performances at previous competitions. The qualifying competition is open to any athlete not extended an invitation. A maximum of 24 individual divers in 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform and eight synchronized teams will compete in the Speedo American Cup.
The 3-meter competition in the Speedo American Cup will feature head-to-head diving. In each contest, two men will compete against each other and two women will compete against each other. The platform events will be standard preliminaries, quarterfinals and finals; and the synchronized events will be finals only.
WHEN: Tuesday, Jan. 7-Sunday, Jan. 12, 2003
WHERE: Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.
WHO: Among the athletes invited to participate in the Speedo American Cup, 2000 Olympic platform gold medallist Laura Wilkinson (Woodlands, Texas) and 2000 Olympian Troy Dumais (Ventura, Calif.) will be in attendance.
Indiana University will be well represented with 2000 Olympian Sara (Reiling) Hildebrand (St. Paul, Minn.), Cassandra Cardinell (Loudonville, N.Y.) Marc Carlton (Webster, N.Y.) and Adam Hazes (Bethesda, Mary.) diving in the contest. Former Hoosiers, Erin Quinn (Ankeny, Iowa) and Tom Davidson (Ambler, Penn.) have also accepted invitations.
Locally, Lindsay Weigle of Bloomington, Ind. will compete on 3-meter. Weigle, 17, was the 2002 junior national champion on the board.
Tickets
Qualifying Competition
Kids (12 & under) Free
Adults $4 per day
Discount $1 off with any student ID or present the flyer
American Cup
Kids (12 & under) $1 per day
Adults $8 per day
Discount $2 off with any student ID or present the flyer
Other Discounts
American Cup Package $20
All Session $25
Group (10 or more people) 2 tickets for the price of 1 and your group will be recognized on the scoreboard during the meet.
