ROME — Purdue University diver David Boudia earned the highest finish by an American in more than a decade when he finished sixth in the platform competition Tuesday at the FINA World Championships in Rome, Italy.
Boudia will join his Beijing Olympic teammate Thomas Finchum for the synchronized platform preliminary round on Friday morning.
“I felt comfortable up there, and I started off well,” Boudia said. “I had a mishap on my gainer and gave up some points there, but it happens. There’s room for improvement.”
Boudia scored 491.80 points in the final to earn the best US finish at the World Championships since Mark Ruiz also finished sixth in 1998. Boudia bolstered his score by earning three 10s throughout the competition. The Big Ten and NCAA champion off the platform was given two perfect scores on his second dive, an inward three-and-a-half, and one on his fifth dive, a back three-and-a-half. Boudia qualified for the final with a sixth-place, 485.25-point list in the semifinal earlier Tuesday.
“I’m proud of David for battling back,” Purdue head diving coach Adam Soldati said. “He missed his fourth-round dive a little bit (in the final), but he really showed a tremendous amount of mental toughness and battled back like a champion. He has a few days now before synchro, and I’m looking forward to seeing him and Thomas compete.”
Boudia now turns his attention to the synchronized platform competition. The Noblesville, Ind., native joins Beijing Olympic teammate Thomas Finchum for the preliminary round Friday at 7 a.m. ET.
