aura Wilkinson's repertoire of dives includes some of the highest degree of difficulty in the sport. Despite her 30 years, considered advanced in the world of competitive diving, the 2000 Olympic gold medalist is back for her third shot at the Olympics in Beijing. She will be competing on platform as well as synchronized platform with her dive partner Jessica Livingston.
During her early teen years, Wilkinson switched from gymnastics to diving after a growth spurt ruled out competitive gymnastics. A long-time vegetarian she recently added chicken and fish to her diet to help build the muscle mass needed to complete more difficult dives. Wilkinson training schedule has her diving several hours six days a week. Her sessions also include stretching, tumbling, trampoline work and strength training.
Since joining the U.S. national team in 1995, this stand out Olympian has won a gold medal in every major world competition in platform diving, and was the first American to win the10 meter platform since the 1964 Olympics. In addition to her victory at the 2000 Sydney Games, where she performed with a broken foot in need of surgery, Wilkinson went on to further glory winning the platform gold medal at both the 2004 World Cup and the 2005 World Championship. She has twice been named both U.S. Diving Athlete of the Year and U.S. Olympic Committee Female Athlete of the Year. She also has a Wheaties box cover to add to her list of accomplishments.
A 2001 graduate of the University of Texas, Wilkinson was named the NCAA All American eight times running. In 2002, she married Eriek Hulseman. The couple resides in The Woodlands, Texas where Wilkinson trains year round. She plans to retire from competitive diving following the 2008 Olympics to take time to start a family and help train the next generation of divers at the state of the art facility she is building through her Laura Wilkinson Foundation. To learn more about Wilkerson, go to her website www.laurawilderson.com.
