EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Olympic Diver David Boudia On London And Thomas Finchum

2008’s Olympic games weren’t particularly kind to David Boudia. He failed to earn a medal in his two events — 10m individual and 10m synchronized — despite having one of the most technically difficult routines in the entire competition. The London games offer Boudia a new chance to bring back the gold, nevertheless, Boudia doesn’t want to take the games too seriously. “So now 2012 is just about taking one step at a time and enjoying that journey that I’m on, because it’s going to be gone before I know it and I just want to enjoy it and just be able to have so much support on that,” remarks Boudia in our exlcusive interview. Nonetheless, it has always been and will always be Boudia’s goal to win Olympic gold. Boudia, who comes from Indiana, has been a US diving sensation. The 23 year old has been diving since 2000 (that means he began when he was the wee age of 11), and has enjoyed incredible success ever since. In college, he has set numerous records that don’t seem like they will be broken anytime soon. And in Boudia’s professional career, he has been named the USA diving Athlete of the Year three times. Much is expected from Boudia this summer. And there is added pressure on Boudia this year. Boudia and and his synchro partner Thomas Finchum will be competing against each other this year in the individual 10m platform. In addition to all else, Boudia will have to navigate the waters of the “teammate versus opponent” conflict. "Before 2008, Thomas and I trained together for I want to say five or six years, and just having him as a teammate is encouraging to know that I have someone who is supporting me the entire way," Boudia began, "but it’s also interesting that he is my competitor." Here more of what Boudia has to say in our exclusive interview.