Laura Wilkinson - Biography

Last Editor: eileenmaldonado				Laura Wilkinson Biography -   Name : Laura Wilkinson Birth date : November 17, 1977 Birth place : Houston Height : 1,68 m Weight : 52 kg Education : Public Relations - University of Texas: Austin, Texas, USA Club : Woodlands Diving Team, Woodlands, Texas, USA Coach : Ken Armstrong, USA Olympic Event : Diving Best Known From : Olympic Gold Medalist in Diving

Laura Wilkinson Trivia -

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Laura Wilkinson Detailed Biography -

Laura was 22 years old when she won her gold medal in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney Australia. Laura never dreamed of being a diver as a young girl. She planned on being a world-class gymnast instead. But by the time she was a teenager she was too tall to be a gymnast, and after trying several sports she discovered diving and found it “addictive.” In only a few short years, she was on the official U.S. diving team. Three years after that she became the first U.S. gold medalist ever at the 1998 Goodwill Games six months before the 2000 Olympics. In a freak accident at a diving meet, Laura broke three bones in her left foot. In a split second, she faced the reality of losing her dream of competing in the Olympics. She received even worse news a month later. Her friend and spiritual mentor, Chuck Knesel, told her he’d been diagnosed with cancer. Chuck and his wife, Sherel, had been an influential part of Laura’s life at college. They were a part of organizing her diving team’s collegiate meets and were her “second parents.” Now it was Chuck’s inspirational trust in God in the middle of his own struggle that gave Laura the faith and courage to overcome her fears about the future. She made a key decision. Laura decided to not have surgery on her foot, which would keep her out of competition. Instead, she would continue training for the Olympics with a specially made cast and have the necessary operation later. Laura competed at the Olympic trials a few weeks later and qualified for Sydney. But even then Laura only had a limited amount of time training in the water as her foot continued healing in the weeks prior to Sydney. Her chances of winning against the highly skilled and highly favored Chinese divers seemed slim. Winning the gold at the 2000 Olympic Games on the 10 Meter platform, Laura ended a 36 years stretch of no American female divers gold! Evertime she would walk to the edge of the 33 foot towere she would look at the huge crowd, seeking out the faces of ther family and supporters waving US flags. Their lour cheering increased the confidence she already felt. Laura was 22 years old when she surprised everyone by beating the Chinese women which had won 4 straight Olympic titles! Laura from The Woodlands, Texas, was diving on a foot broken in March. She wore a kayak shoe to protect the bones that protrude into the bottom of her foot, then tossed it off the tower before diving.