Indiana University Athletics
Hildebrand Wins International Meet
5/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
LINK TO FINA GRAND PRIX RESULTS
May 11, 2003
HILDEBRAND GARNERS PRESTIGIOUS CHAMPIONSHIP AGAINST FIELD OF WORLD'S BEST AT FINA GRAND PRIX
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The Woodlands, Texas - Indiana senior Sara Hildebrand, a 2000 Olympian on 10-Meter Platform, made a strong argument at this past weekend's FINA Grand Prix that - at least based on the events of the week -- she may be the finest all-around female diver in the United States today. This afternoon, against a highly competitive field of numerous former Olympians and international standouts, Hildebrand captured the individual title on 3-Meter Springboard, only two days after she finished fourth on 10-Meter Platform. Today's victory marked Hildebrand's first victory in a prestigious international competition. Her best finish previously at an international competition was a third-place standing on 3-Meter at the 2002 China Open.
Although this week's FINA Grand Prix did not include the highly regarded Chinese women, the field read like a who's who of the world's most outstanding divers. In today's 3-Meter finals, Hildebrand won with 327.57 points, which was more than a 10-point advantage over second-place finisher Tania Cagnotto of Italy (317.40). Cagnotto was 18th in this event at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. The remaining top six finishers included Australia's Loudy Tourky, who won a Bronze Medal at the Sydney Olympics on 3-Meter Synchro, the United States' Michelle Davison, who finished 12th on 3-Meter at the 2000 Olympics, Germany's Ditte Kotzian, Gold Medallist on 3-Meter Synchro and Silver Medallist on 3-Meter at the 2002 European Championships, and Mexico's Laura Sanchez. The entire preliminary field included more than 10 former Olympians.
It was consistency that won the 3-Meter title for Hildebrand as she recorded at least 61.20 points in each of her five dives. To put this in perspective, every other diver notched at least one dive that scored fewer than 57.0 points, while Hildebrand was also the only diver to record two dives that scored 69-or-more points. In order, she tallied scores of 63.00, 69.72, 71.28, 61.20, and 62.37 points. She captured the lead after the third round and never trailed for the remainder of the event.
On Saturday, Hildebrand finished fourth on 10-Meter Platform with a score of 324.12. Laura Wilkinson of the United States, the Olympic Gold Medallist in this event in 2000, finished second with 330.55 points, while Australia's Loudy Tourky won the competition with 370.95 points. In both the 3-Meter and Platform competitions, the total degree of difficulty on Hildebrand's dive list was highest in the competition.
Hildebrand's schedule does not slow down any time soon. From June 24-29 in Indianapolis, she will compete at the US National Diving Championships. She will participate at the FINA World Championships in Barcelona from July 13-20.
Monday, August 17
Thursday, August 13
Thursday, August 13
Wednesday, August 12