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August 28, 2004 10:52 am

U.S. divers shut out after 92 years

By DAVID WOODS

The Indianapolis Star

ATHENS, Greece - After an Olympic Games in which American divers failed to win a medal for the first time since 1912, Indiana University coach Jeff Huber is proposing changes to U.S. Diving.

Huber, an assistant coach for the U.S. team, said the state of the sport is not as bad as that reflected in the medal count. American divers endured some bad breaks in Athens, he said.

``There's a lot of assets to our country,'' Huber said. ``One of the things I'm trying to point out is we have a very broad coaching base.''

He agrees with former IU coach Hobie Billingsley, who favors more coaching of coaches. In turn, Huber said, that would allow the coaches to identify and develop more elite divers.

``It's a little like a company not putting a whole lot into research and development,'' Huber said.

Coincidentally, USA Gymnastics widened its base of coaches after Americans were shut out at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In Athens, American gymnasts won a record nine medals.

U.S. Diving, based in Indianapolis, operates a centralized training center out of The Woodlands, Texas. Huber opposes ``draining other programs'' to send top divers to one place and one coach, Ken Armstrong.

``I think that has created a lot of animosity,'' Huber said. ``I think it's created an us vs. them atmosphere in U.S. Diving.''

U.S. Diving made synchronized teams a priority in Olympic selection, a decision Huber supported because those offered the best chances for medals.Troy and Justin Dumais were in position for a gold in synchro 3-meter but blew their final dive and finished sixth. The 10-meter team of Sara Hildebrand and Cassandra Cardinell, coached by Huber, might have won a bronze if Cardinell had not hit the tower on the first dive.

In individual events, defending gold medalist Laura Wilkinson, who won February's World Cup, finished fifth on 10-meter. Troy Dumais was sixth on 3-meter.

Elsewhere, national champions Caesar Garcia and Kimiko Hirai Soldati weren't among the 18 divers qualifying for semifinals. Soldati and 3-meter diver Justin Wilcock were injured after the Olympic Trials, calling into question whether they should have been replaced.

In hindsight, the United States might have benefited from sending trials runners-up such as Thomas Finchum, 14, of Indianapolis or Brittany Viola, 17, to Athens to prepare them for Beijing in 2008.

``We're looking for those next Greg Louganises. I think Thomas Finchum is in that category,'' Huber said. ``I kind of wish he'd been here just to get the experience or even to watch.''

Depth is a strength of American divers, although that doesn't necessarily produce medals. Canada outperforms the United States largely because it has a great one, 19-year-old Alexandre Despatie.

``It only takes three or four divers total to make it look like you're having a great diving program,'' Huber said.

In Athens, the United States would have settled for one.

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