Laura Wilkinson
Encyclopedia
Laura Ann Wilkinson is a former American
diver
.
, but had to give up on the sport after a growth spurt during puberty made her too tall to continue. It was then that she turned to diving. Wilkinson is a 2001 graduate of the University of Texas
, where she majored in public relations. She trains in The Woodlands, Texas
and is married to Eriek Hulseman. The couple welcomed their first child, a girl, Arella Joy, on May 11, 2011. She also travels around the country speaking to girls at The Revolve Tour, a Christian girls' conference.
, she witnessed a young female diver
in-training execute an impressive dive, and she quickly developed an interest in the sport herself. She would then take up platform diving, where in 1995, she joined the U.S. national team.
, Wilkinson suffered a serious foot injury that kept her out of action for a couple of months. During this time, she used mental images to visualize her dives. Her foot was not fully recovered by the time she started diving again, but she was able to qualify for the Olympics. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, Wilkinson, who was still in pain from her foot injury, was in eighth place after the first of five dives in the platform diving finals. However, she earned her the first gold medal for a female American platform diver since 1964.
. However, she had already had an impact on her competitors. Several of them repeated the technique she used at the 2000 Olympics by starting their dives with a handstand.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
diver
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
.
Background
As a child, Wilkinson was a gymnastGymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, but had to give up on the sport after a growth spurt during puberty made her too tall to continue. It was then that she turned to diving. Wilkinson is a 2001 graduate of the University of Texas
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, where she majored in public relations. She trains in The Woodlands, Texas
The Woodlands, Texas
The Woodlands is a master-planned community and a Census-designated place in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area. The population of the CDP was 55,649 at the 2000 census—a 90 percent increase over its 1990 population. According to the 2010 census, The Woodlands' population rose...
and is married to Eriek Hulseman. The couple welcomed their first child, a girl, Arella Joy, on May 11, 2011. She also travels around the country speaking to girls at The Revolve Tour, a Christian girls' conference.
Career
One day, while swimming in the gym's poolSwimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
, she witnessed a young female diver
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
in-training execute an impressive dive, and she quickly developed an interest in the sport herself. She would then take up platform diving, where in 1995, she joined the U.S. national team.
2000 Summer Olympics
Six months prior to the 2000 Summer Olympics2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, Wilkinson suffered a serious foot injury that kept her out of action for a couple of months. During this time, she used mental images to visualize her dives. Her foot was not fully recovered by the time she started diving again, but she was able to qualify for the Olympics. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, Wilkinson, who was still in pain from her foot injury, was in eighth place after the first of five dives in the platform diving finals. However, she earned her the first gold medal for a female American platform diver since 1964.
2004 Summer Olympics
Wilkinson finished in fifth place at the 2004 Summer Olympics2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
. However, she had already had an impact on her competitors. Several of them repeated the technique she used at the 2000 Olympics by starting their dives with a handstand.