Finchum And Boudia In Sync

While gay Australian diver Matthew Mitcham may be both an objective and sentimental favorite to win the gold medal for the men's 10 meter platform diving event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, let's not forget the home team of Thomas Finchum (at right) and David Boudia. In this case home is both the USA and my own Indianapolis area as both American divers currently live here. The two are contenders for both the 10m and (together) the 10m synchronized.

See also: Boudia and Finchum Both Want To Be The Top

Technically, Boudia was born in Texas while Finchum was born in the Indianapolis enclave of Beech Grove, so Finchum is the one true Hoosier and I have to make him my favorite for this reason. It looks like the media is going to make Boudia appear to be the better of the two, but it really depends on which day it is as to which one is on top. They are very close in their abilities, which is useful for them being synchronized partners together.

At the U.S. Olympic diving trials in Indianapolis, Boudia (at left) finished first, but that was with a huge head start score given to him because of a placement in a previous international competition. Finchum actually scored higher on his dives than Boudia at the trials.

I'm hoping that Thomas can be another Greg Louganis.

At the trials Finchum was noticeably sedate but hopefully he will get his spirit back by Beijing.

Another note about the trials: when you see diving in person you see how cocky acting the male divers can be walking around the pool. I attribute it as a counter-action to having to be in public wearing Speedos that are tighter than an extra small condom and show every bit of the gingerbread. The best looking diver was probably JJ Kinzbach but Nick McCrory deserves an honorable mention for keeping his hair on his body.

As with a large number of other sports governing bodies in the U.S., USA Diving is headquartered in Indianapolis, the amateur sports capital of America. The national diving training center is in Indianapolis and having a centralized training location here appears to have improved recently the quality of America's chances in international competition.