USA Diving / Boudia & Johnson Win Silver / Boudia Wins Bronze
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Purdue alumnus and four-time Olympic medalist David Boudia was honored with USA Diving's Athlete of the Year award for the seventh consecutive year and eighth time in his illustrious career.
Boudia was honored Friday at USA Diving's annual awards ceremony, which coincides with the organization's Winter National Championships. In his third Olympics, Boudia won silver and bronze medals at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. He placed second in synchronized 10-meter with partner and fellow Boilermaker Steele Johnson. Individually, he also finished third on 10-meter in Rio.
Boudia and Johnson finished with a score of 457.11, topping Great Britain's Tom Daley and Daniel Goodfellow for silver. The three-time Olympian's score of 525.25 secured the second individual medal of his Olympic career, finishing with a bronze in the men's 10-meter platform.
Boudia's Olympic medal count is now at four (one gold, one silver, two bronze), tying him with Pat McCormick, Dorothy Poynton-Hill, Georgia Coleman, Mickey Galitzen, Bud Pinkston and Paula Jean Meyers-Pope for the second most by an American diver. Greg Louganis is the only American diver with five Olympic medals (four gold, one silver).
Boudia won the men's 10-meter and synchronized 10-meter at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, his third straight individual title at Trials and second straight in the synchronized event. In February, he teamed with Johnson to earn Team USA its Olympic bid in synchronized 10-meter via their fourth-place finish at the FINA Diving World Cup.
With gold and bronze medals in the 10-meter events four years ago in London, Boudia accomplished the rare double medal feat in consecutive Olympics. Internationally, China's Hu Jia and Tian Liang were the last divers to medal individually on 10-meter in consecutive Olympics Games (2000-04). However, since synchronized diving was added to the Olympic program in 2000, Liang is the only other men's 10-meter diver to win four medals over consecutive Olympics.
Boudia became the first American man to medal on 10-meter in consecutive Olympics since Louganis won gold in 1984 and 1988. This year he also became Team USA's first male diver to medal in consecutive Olympics since Mark Lenzi (3-meter) in 1992 and 1996. He was the only American diver to medal in an individual event in Rio.
Boudia was among the nine inductees into the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame this year. He and Carrie (McCambridge) Karkoska became the first divers inducted into the Purdue Hall of Fame. Boudia, Johnson along with fellow alum and 2016 Olympic medalist Amanda Elmore (gold medalist in rowing) were also recognized at the Homecoming football game in October. A Boudia bobblehead giveaway is planned for the Purdue-Indiana men's basketball game on Feb. 28 at Mackey Arena.
Boudia was also USA Diving's Athlete of the Year in 2008 as well as 2010 to present. His autobiography Greater Than Gold was published this summer.
We are pleased to announce that @davidboudia has been named the 2016 USA Diving Athlete of the Year! https://t.co/dvwx1XBOWm pic.twitter.com/xtkidnJEXD
- USA Diving (@USADiving) December 17, 2016