Laura Wilkinson
is one of the most decorated American divers in the history of international
competition. She set a high standard as the only female diver to win 10-meter
platform gold at the World Championships (2005), World Cup (2004), Olympic
Games (2000) and Goodwill Games (1998).
Now retired and
enjoying life as a wife and mother, Wilkinson finds herself back in the
spotlight as a broadcast analyst including a stint covering the Olympic Games
in Rio for NBC Sports. In this conversation, she talks about how she got into
diving, what led her to pursue a relationship with Christ, and what it means to
be an Olympic champion:
Chad Bonham: How
did you get involved in diving?
Laura Wilkinson:
I was seven years old when I got into gymnastics. I got to a point where I
realized that I wasn’t going to be the next Mary Lou Retton and I just felt
like I needed to find something that I could be great at because I just felt
like I was supposed to be good at something. At the end of my freshman year in
high school I discovered diving. My previous experience in gymnastics helped me
make a quick transition.
Bonham: Tell me about your faith journey?
Wilkinson: I
became a Christian at a very young age. I was eight years old and it just made
sense. I was like, “Why wouldn’t people do this?” I totally got it and I was
really excited about God. Then I entered my freshman year of high school and I
switched churches. I started going to a youth group with one of my friends and
I started to see that some of the kids would be one way at church and then we’d
go to McDonald’s or something like that after church and they would be totally
different. I just felt really uncomfortable and I didn’t know how to handle it
so I just stopped going which is the complete opposite of what I should have
done. At that point, I got confused and so I walked away from it, but then I
ended up becoming just like them. I wasn’t living for God and I was trying to
take things into my own control. My sophomore year in college, I realized that
me being in control of my life just made a mess of things. I knew that I needed
God back. I didn’t hit rock bottom but it felt like it and so I totally
recommitted my life and it’s just been different ever since.”
Bonham: You’ve
listed your parents as some of the most influential people in your life. How
have they inspired you?
Wilkinson: My
parents are great examples of integrity. They’re just awesome. They’re just so
concerned about the people around them. They’re very loving. They’re still together.
They’re just really good living examples. They just live it out. They don’t
have to tell you what to do. They just do it and that’s taught me that the best
example that you can be is to just be it. Instead of telling somebody, you
should just live it out.”
Bonham: You’re
journey to the 2000 Summer Olympics was pretty rocky. Can you describe the
circumstances that made getting to Sydney (and then winning the gold medal) so
special?
Wilkinson: I
came home from school that year and left my scholarship behind. I was training
full-on for the Olympics. I knew it might be my one and only chance. I was
going to give it all I had and then I broke my foot three months before trials.
It was this big let down for about a week and then I realized how bad I wanted
to be back in the water. Before that, my dream was getting fuzzy and out of
focus but the injury helped refocus me towards accomplishing my goals. From
then, I just kind of made up mind that I was going for it and I wasn’t going to
look back. I just knew that God had given me this dream, so I had to do it.
So for the next
few weeks, I would hop up the ladder to the 10-meter platform and sit on the
edge in my street clothes visualizing my dives and doing the arm motions. I
watched tons of video with my coach and just focused on the mental side of
diving.
I’m not sure
what was more special – winning the Olympic trials or winning the Olympics.
Both of those were so monumental because when I won trials, I had only been
back in the water for three weeks. That’s unreal not to mention the fact that I
won the trials by 40 points.
Bonham: How did
you deal with the disappointment of finishing fifth at the 2004 Summer Olympics
in Athens?
Wilkinson: It
was definitely disappointing because I had won before, but I know well enough
that getting fifth place in the Olympics is really good. I understand that. So
I did appreciate it because of what I did in my training. I was little behind
going into it because I’d had a foot surgery earlier that year and I was
finishing school. I really didn’t know my dives as well as I should have. So
yeah, it was disappointing but at the same time my mission going in was to
glorify God first and win a medal second. I didn’t win a medal but I did
glorify God. I thanked Him in an interview. I don’t think it ever aired but
that was the first thing out of my mouth. My whole attitude about it isn’t what
people expect. They always expect me to be all ticked off, but it was great. I
loved Greece. It was a fantastic Olympics.
Bonham: What was
your inspiration for taking that third and final shot at the Olympic Games in
Beijing?
Wilkinson: Not
medaling in Athens actually turned into fuel for a new passion for the sport
again. I had to go through wrist surgery after that and I thought maybe I’d just
do one more year and I ended up winning the world championships for the first
time and I started learning new dives. I mean, you don’t start learning new
dives when you’re about to retire. I could just tell that I really wanted to
keep doing this. Sometimes it was tough because most of my friends were settling
down and having kids. I didn’t always know if I want to be doing this, but then
God would just remind me, “Oh no, this is what you’re meant to do. This is what
you love. I have you here because this is I made you for.”
Pick up Chad Bonham's book Glory of the Games (featuring 17 Olympic athletes such as Laura Wilkinson, Shannon Miller, Kevin Durant, Tobin Heath, Josh Davis, Dave Johnson, Tamika Catchings, Ruth Riley, etc.) by clicking HERE.
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