2007 World Diving Championships messages from Laura Wilkinson
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Diving Info > Senior FINA Diving > 2007 US Team > World Championships   2007 World Diving Championships messages from Laura Wilkinson Updates from Laura Wilkinson at the 2007 World Championships View Results Monday, March 26, 2007 So things have been fun and crazy in the last couple of days! Unfortunately both of our boys, Thomas and David, just barely missed making it into semifinals for platform. Thomas was less than half a point out of 18th. But we’re hoping and cheering them on today so they can come back strong in Men’s platform synchro! Kelci and Nancilea did an outstanding job on the 3 meter yesterday! The both made it through to the finals (top 12) earning our full 2 Olympic spots for women’s 3 meter! Great job ladies! In the finals Kelci started off a little shaky but came back strong with her last two dives for a score of 294.55 and a 10th place finish at her first World Championships! Nancilea started off strong with her 405c and 5152b, but then went just a little over on her 107b in the third round. But similarly to semifinals, she charged back nailing both her 205b and 305b to finish in the top 6 with a score of 312.7. Today Kelci and Ariel will compete in the women’s 3 meter synchro. I also wanted to point out that in our Olympic Team selection procedures, there are points you can earn towards Olympic Trials for a top 6 finish at the 2007 FINA World Championships and the 2008 World Cup. Nancilea and I are the only ones who earned the points at this meet. With Nancilea’s 6th place, she will begin Olympic Trials with 15 points and my 4th place finish starts me with 25 points. Wednesday, March 21, 2007 (Afternoon) finished 4th place at my last World Championships. I could be disappointed. I could be angry. I could be bitter. But I find myself quite peaceful. I almost didn’t even qualify into semifinals after a fluke dive threw me for a loop in the prelims. Then I battled some demons from that prelims to comeback strong in the semifinals seating myself 5th heading into finals where we all started from scratch. I had a great warmup and was excited for the finals tonight. I knew this was going to be my final World Championships as I’m planning to retire following the Beijing Olympic Games. So I made my mind up that I was going to enjoy this meet no matter what place I finished- and I did. I didn’t hit my first dive (armstand) quite as well as I could have, but I came back strong in many ways on my next dive. The dive I earned 1’s and 2’s on in the prelims last night went down for 8.5’s and 9’s- the highest scores I’ve ever earned on it. I had high hopes for the third round with my biggest dive back three and a half pike. But it is an inconsistent dive and although I had a good start, I came out too early wanting to hit it, too badly. But I rallied back again with my reverse three and a half tuck for 8.5’s. On my final dive I had no idea where I stood but enjoying my last trip up to 10 meter here, I had a great ending to the meet hitting my twister for 8.5’s and 9’s. It wasn’t the meet I had dreamed of, but I have no regrets and I am not left with questions of “what if I had only?” I am excited to see where I’m at compared to the rest of the world, and now I know exactly what I need to do over the next 18 months. I will post some videos in a few days, but I’ll let you know when they’re up. Other exciting news, Chris Colwill also had 4th place finish tonight on the men’s 1meter. He dived very well and was just 9 points out of a medal. Laura (Morning) I am thankful that God gave me a brand new day today with a clean slate. My past was wiped away. Today I had a new opportunity, a new chance, a new hope. The dive that threw me for a loop yesterday went down for mostly 8’s today. There were still a few little things here and there that I can clean up, but I felt so much better after today’s semifinals. I am seated 5th going into tonight’s final. So, one spot is officially earned for the Olympics for the USA on women’s platform. Chris Colwill had a very tough semifinal on the men’s 1 meter which was in cup format (which means there are 2 groups of 6 and the top 3 from each advance to a 6 person final tonight). Although his semi was difficult, Chris rose to the occasion and placed 3rd with a score of 400.75. Tonight Chris and I both dive finals. Go Team USA Laura Tuesday, March 20, 2007 "Okay, before you look at the results from prelims, let me make you aware that it was rough. I started off great with a steady armstand, then I had the best top of my life on my next dive, inward. Unfortunately with this great takeoff, I really didn’t know how well I was moving and came out late and not the right way and went far over- like almost flat. I was pretty shocked after that because I really wasn’t sure what happened. My next dive was good just loose on the entry then my fourth round dive was a little short of vertical. But thankfully my final dive, twister, was good and that put me back into the top 18 for semifinals tomorrow morning. I’m very thankful to have a second chance tomorrow. We start from zero so it will be an even playing field once again." Laura