Courtesy: USA Diving
ATLANTA – USA Diving will return to the campus of Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta December 16 at the McAuley Aquatic Center for the 2018 USA Diving Winter Trials, which will run through December 21. Divers will be selected to compete in the 2019 World University Games, as well as determine teams for select FINA Grand Prix meets in 2019, based on their performances at Winter Trials. Trials will be streamed on Facebook Live through USA Diving’s Facebook page.
The Winter Trials features four-time Olympic medalist David Boudia (Noblesville, Ind./West Lafayette, Ind.), 2016 silver medalist Michael Hixon (Amherst, Mass./Bloomington, Ind.), as well as 2016 Olympians Amy Cozad Magaña (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Katrina Young (Shoreline, Wash./Tallahassee, Fla.).
What to Watch For
David Boudia – In his first competition following the 2016 Summer Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Boudia earned the silver medal in last month’s FINA Gold Coast Grand Prix in the men’s 3-meter, an event he had not competed in since 2014. Boudia will return to his first national competition since the 2016 Olympic Trials, where he will compete in the men’s 3-meter.
Andrew Capobianco and Michael Hixon – With the announcement of Sam Dorman’s retirement, Hixon will team up with former Hoosier teammate Capobianco for the first time in the men’s 3-meter synchro. Both Hixon and Capobianco competed in the FINA World Cup last summer in Wuhan, China in the men’s 3-meter event.
David Dinsmore – Coming off two bronze medals from last summer’s FINA Diving World Cup, including a bronze medal winning performance in the men’s 10-meter platform, Dinsmore will contend once again in the event as he looks to set himself for more success in 2019.
Hailey Hernandez – Hernandez is coming off an impressive summer, where the 15-year old competed in the FINA World Cup and won two silver medals in the FINA World Junior Championships in the women’s 1-meter and 3-meter events. The Texas native wrapped up her summer competition with two gold medals in the group B girls 1-meter and 3-meter events, as well as silver in the group B girls platform competition at the 2018 USA Diving Junior National Championships.
Bridget O’Neil – O’Neil represented Team USA this fall in the Summer Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 in the women’s 3-meter, where she clinched the bronze medal. The seventeen year old is the first female American diver to win a Youth Olympic Games medal, and joined Hixon as the only other American diver to earn a medal at the Summer Youth Olympic Games