As a seven-year-old gymnast, David Boudia remembers watching his first Olympic Games, Atlanta 1996, and dreaming of competing on the world stage. But he wasn’t prepared for the impact that achieving this would have on his mental health and the deep depression that would accompany his new-found success. The 29-year-old Boudia decided after talking with his wife, Sonnie, that he had to put some things on hold if he was going to make a serious run at qualifying for his fourth Olympics — the Tokyo 2020 Games. He won the gold medal in the 10 metre platform diving competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the bronze medal in the same event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Then, in a February 2018 workout, he lost his position in the air on his favorite dive — a back 3 ½ pike — and smacked the water. The challenge of the 3m springboard reignited his passion for the sport. Boudia suffered a concussion this past year, which played a large part in why he made the switch to the 3-meter board. david boudia, katrina young, & michael hixon highlight 2019 world championships week – diving, beginning tonight at 8 p.m. et on olympic channel: home of team usa U.S. Women’s Diving Ends 14-Year Individual Medal Drought with Performances by Sarah Bacon & Delaney Schnell ‘I gotta commend him for just getting back onto that platform,’ chipped in judge and Olympic Gold medalist David Boudia. Why am I here? Boudia's move from platform to springboard is a natural progression for divers. After two more medals – silver and bronze – in Rio four years later, Boudia took time off from diving. According to Boudia, he began to feel anxiety on the 10-meter platform. The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 run July 24-Aug. 9, 2020, and while they may be nearly 20 months away there’s a lot to learn on your quest to becoming the ultimate fan. It’s a new challenge, so it makes it a lot more exciting.”, While in Australia, Boudia climbed up the 10-meter platform and looked around the pool. He had an undeniable feeling that “I have no desire whatsoever to dive off this ever again.”. Olympic gold medalist and Purdue alum David Boudia is already looking ahead to Tokyo in 2020. ©2020 United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Growing up, he enjoyed a normal childhood in the Midwest. While competing there, he won a silver medal in the 10m synchro competition alongside partner David Boudia. All Rights Reserved. Boudia experienced dizziness, blackouts and fatigue following his dive in February that went horribly wrong. After his third Games at Rio 2016, Boudia suffered a concussion whilst diving off a 10m platform, forcing him to re-evaluate his discipline and ultimately choose to leave his 10m platform career behind and pursue the 3m springboard for Tokyo. What am I doing? David Boudia Wins 3-meter National Title, Makes World Championship Team Team USA After becoming one of the most decorated divers in U.S. history on the 10-meter platform, three-time Olympian and four-time Olympic medalist David Boudia’s transition to … What’s the point in all of this?". Boudia, 29, a former Noblesville resident … It takes experience and competition.”. “Let’s say you drive a sedan your entire life and you step out and you get into a truck, and the feel is just different,” Boudia said. While sidelined, he made some major changes to his life. "What’s the purpose? It tends to be an event for younger divers, not a married man with two daughters and a real estate license like Boudia. With his past synchro partner, Nick McCrory, they achieved Bronze medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics. To reach our full potential, we have to dream big but having such high expectations of ourselves can come at a cost. According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it’s now the second leading cause of death among young Americans. For Johnson, it was the final step to overcoming a horrific head injury he endured seven years earlier while practicing his diving. Despite the encouragement from his parents, he was always very independent, wanting to figure everything out on his own - but it soon became apparent that this way of living was detrimental. Being at the Games was a rollercoaster that saw him experience the highs of competing among the world’s top athletes contrasted with days when he felt inexplicably low. It just takes time to get the rhythm. Nov. 20, 2018, 12:01 a.m. (ET). He was diagnosed with a concussion. David Boudia, U.S. Olympic gold medallist diver, struggled to ride the high... At the age of 11, in suburban Indianapolis, Boudia’s ambitions began to take shape as he worked towards becoming a top athlete. Looking for breaking news, videos, Olympic and Paralympic team bios all at your fingertips? It’s more important than ever that we talk about how we feel and seek advice from those around us. That included recognising that success is as much about the journey as it is about the end goal and learning to enjoy it by not worrying about what he can’t control along the way. ", “The 10-meter is different than the springboard. Boudia also switched events. U.S. diver Steele Johnson won a silver medal Monday in Rio de Janeiro with teammate David Boudia for men’s synchronized 10-meter platform diving. He also won a bronze medal with Nick McCrory in the men's syn In February 2018 he sustained a concussion as a result of a 10m diving accident. After his return to competition in Australia, Boudia’s schedule will intensify with the 2018 USA Diving Winter Trials in Atlanta in mid-December. He has a simple way of explaining the difference. “So you know how to drive, but driving a truck is just different than driving a sedan and so the same on the events. Boudia, whose favorite dive is 109C, enjoys anything competitive (football, basketball, soccer, etc.) Boudia said several factors went into the decision for him to start diving from 3 meters, which he hadn’t competed in at an elite level internationally since 2014. “It was kind of a good wakeup call snapping on the water to kind of open up my eyes and (see) what am I doing now that’s going to get me to where I want to be in the future,” he said. He hated training, and his stress level was “extremely high” as he tried juggling being a husband, a father and a budding real estate entrepreneur. From a young age, he was always driven by what he now feels were superficial goals; fame, riches and notoriety. Four-time Olympic diving medalist David Boudia is missing this week’s national championships and next month’s FINA World Cup, the biggest competition of the year, due to a concussion suffered in a crash off the 10m platform. It was at this point that Boudia knew he needed help. To everyone else, it seemed as if he had it all. The 29-year-old said he just about belly-flopped in a February crashed dive in platform practice, the worst he had missed a dive … That knocked him out of … So when he did just that, dropping from a platform the height of a three-story building only to slam into the water and become concussed, it wasn’t a total surprise for the three-time Olympic diver. “It was time for a change,” said Boudia, who won three of his six NCAA titles on 3-meter event while competing at Purdue. After excelling in the 10m platform, David Boudia suffered concussion and retired from diving. David Boudia was feeling sick, worn down and so overwhelmed that he knew it was only a matter of time before he crashed. Shortly after announcing his return to diving, Boudia suffered a concussion that kept him away from most of 2018 competition. He is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc. Diver David Boudia Returns To Competition For First Time Since 2016 Olympics, Medals On 3-meter, Bridget O’Neil Wins Youth Olympic Diving Bronze – 94 Years After Her Great-Uncle’s Olympic Gold, Youth Olympic Diver Jack Matthews Talks Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder And His Mentality At The Games, Oh The Places They’ll Go: See The Amazing Things Summer Youth Olympians Have Gone On To Do, 8 Of The Most Memorable Videos From The 2018 Team USA Summer Champions Series. Download the Team USA app today. — David Boudia. "I wanted to just lay in bed and not think about anything - to the point where it got so bad that I contemplated suicide.”. Empower Team USA athletes to achieve sustained competitive excellence and well-being. He finished the final with 422.05 points, just 7.40 points behind Australia’s Kevin Chavez. Olympic diving champion David Boudia was supposed to be in Tokyo right now. As part of ZICO’s Olympic campaign, she will be featured in a series of promotions, along with diver David Boudia. Feeling rejuvenated and in the best shape of his career, Boudia returned to competition this past week at the FINA Gold Coast Grand Prix in Southport, Australia, where he finished second on the springboard. Johnson made his Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Games, where he won a silver medal with David Boudia in the men's 10 m synchronized platform diving competition. While he was the king of platform, Soldati believes there is a strong foundation for springboard success. If you are struggling with your mental health, it often feels as though there is no one you can trust to confide in, but from Boudia’s experience, just getting your emotions out and letting go of the expectations of your life’s journey is the best step you can take. 2020 - All rights reserved, What Moves Me | David Boudia: Valuing the journey, Boudia on new goals after diving "head first from a three-storey building", Finals - Men's 10m Platform | London 2012 Replays. David found out later that the coach had said he would never be good enough to compete at the highest level due to his having a “banana back.” Boudia remembers this as the moment that triggered his “turbo self,” a hyper-competitive drive to excel. He was managing 15 clients on top of training full-time. Boudia was named to the 2008 U.S. Olympic team in the 10-meter platform and in the synchronized 10-meter platform event with former synchro partner Thomas Finchum. Upon his return to competition, a serious concussion suffered after a training incident led the diver to change tack, switching to the lower 3m springboard. By Alex Abrams | After his third Games at Rio 2016, Boudia suffered a concussion whilst diving off a 10m platform, forcing him to re-evaluate his discipline and ultimately choose to leave his 10m platform career behind and pursue the 3m springboard for Tokyo. David Boudia, a four-time medalist aiming for his fourth Olympic Games, has been dealt a setback in his diving comeback. Boudia, the 2012 Olympic platform champion and four-time medalist, switched after returning to training in early summer from a February concussion. After winning his third and fourth Olympic medals in 2016 in Rio, Boudia had taken a break from the sport to explore what else life had to offer, only to decide in fall 2017 to make a comeback. Boudia experienced dizziness, blackouts and fatigue following his dive in February that went horribly wrong. by Taylor Brien 14 May 2018, 02:07pm Olympic diver David Boudia has announced via Instagram that he will be taking a break from diving to recover from a concussion. However, Boudia soon found he didn’t enjoy being back on the 10-meter platform, where he had won all of his Olympic medals, including the individual gold in 2012. Want to learn to curl like the pros? Diving off the 10-meter platform takes a toll on an Olympian’s joints. Yet in an odd way, the crash brought him some much-needed clarity. The 2019 World Championships marked Boudia’s first real test in his new event, where he finished fifth. Boudia and Finchum were 2009 World Championship (Rome) Silver Medalists, and 2007 World Championship (Melbourne) Bronze Medalists. When Boudia was 12 years old, a legendary Olympic coach came to his pool. After excelling in the 10m platform, David Boudia suffered concussion and retired from diving. His preparation involves more than just reps in the swimming pool. The injury nearly cost him his life. ‘But I can tell you weren’t happy with that dive,’ he said. Alex Abrams has written about Olympic sports for more than 15 years, including as a reporter for major newspapers in Florida, Arkansas and Oklahoma. After taking a break from the sport following a concussion in early 2018, four-time Olympic medalist David Boudia made the switch from platform to 3-meter springboard. The pressure to achieve can be crippling and in the moments we don’t succeed, being too critical of ourselves can cause us to spiral into depression. It likely was accelerated by a concussion he suffered during training nearly a year and a half ago. "The lights turned out and it was like I was this average Joe again.". Just weeks before, he’d been rubbing shoulders with the elite U.S Olympic team, achieving the goals he’d set for himself as a child and now he was walking through campus like everyone else. More than the physical toll, though, Boudia admitted he would have retired without a doubt had he not switched events. It wasn’t long before he transitioned into diving, a sport which would later see him winning a gold medal at London 2012 and would also play a vital part in his battle with depression. He's also training his spirit and his heart and hopes to inspire others with his message. RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 08: David Boudia and Steele Johnson of the United States compete in … He retired an Olympic champion and four-time medallist in one diving event,... 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