Laura Wilkinson facts for kids
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Laura Ann Wilkinson | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | November 17, 1977 Houston, Texas |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 3m, 3m synchro, 10m, 10m synchro | |||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Woodlands Diving Team | |||||||||||||||||||
|
Medal record
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Laura Ann Wilkinson, born on November 17, 1977, in Houston, Texas, is an American diver. She is a three-time Olympian and an Olympic gold medalist. Laura is famous for being the first woman to win the three biggest diving world titles. She first retired in 2008. After nine years, she returned to diving in 2017 and earned second place at the U.S. Nationals. She trained for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but did not make the team.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Laura Wilkinson grew up in Houston, Texas, with her parents, Ed and Linda Wilkinson. She went to Klein High School in Houston. Later, she attended the University of Texas.
As a child, Laura was a gymnast. However, she grew too tall during her teenage years to continue with gymnastics. This led her to try diving instead. When she first started diving, some people thought she was too old to begin a new sport. She was even removed from her high school team at one point.
Laura graduated from the University of Texas in 2001. She studied public relations there. While on a scholarship, she decided to pause her studies to focus on her dream of becoming an Olympian. She trained in The Woodlands, Texas.
Diving Career Highlights
Laura's interest in diving began when she saw a young diver practicing at a pool. She was amazed by the impressive dive. Laura did her first jump from the 10-meter platform when she was 15 years old. She started platform diving and joined the U.S. National Team in 1995.
Olympic Games Achievements
2000 Sydney Olympics
Six months before the 2000 Summer Olympics, Laura had a serious foot injury. This kept her from practicing in the water for a few months. During this time, she used a special technique called visualization to practice her dives in her mind. She was not fully healed when she qualified for the Olympics.
Even with her foot still hurting, she was in eighth place after the first of five dives in the platform finals. But Laura kept going and won the gold medal! She was the first American woman to win a gold medal in platform diving since 1964.
2004 Athens Olympics
At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Laura finished in fifth place. Even though she didn't win a medal, she made a big impression on other divers. Many of them started using the handstand technique she used in her dives at the 2000 Olympics.
2008 Beijing Olympics
On June 26, 2008, Laura qualified for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Diving Team. She placed first in the trials. In the Women’s 10m platform final at the Olympics, she finished in ninth place. After this competition, she announced her retirement from diving.
2020 Tokyo Olympics Attempt
In 2017, after being retired for nine years, Laura returned to competitive diving. She placed second at the U.S. Nationals. She then trained full-time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. These Games were delayed until 2021 due to the global pandemic. Even though she trained hard, she did not qualify for the team.
Beyond Diving Competition
When she was not competing, Laura worked as a diving analyst for NBC Sports. She helped explain the dives from the pool deck during the Olympic Games. She did this for the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games. She also worked as a color commentator for individual diving events at the Paris 2024 Games.
Personal Life
Laura Wilkinson is married to Eriek Hulseman. They have four children. Their first child, a girl named Arella Joy, was born on May 11, 2011. In December 2012, they adopted a baby girl named Zoe from China. Laura gave birth to a son, Zadok, in January 2014. Their fourth child, Dakaia, joined their family from Ethiopia in March 2018.
Laura also travels around the country. She speaks to girls at The Revolve Tour, which is a Christian girls' conference. In 2018, she had a major surgery on her neck. This was to fix damage to discs that were injured during her diving career.
See also
In Spanish: Laura Ann Wilkinson para niños
