Dumais not giving up on dream of Olympic gold

BEIJING (AP) Troy Dumais grew up watching Greg Louganis - the gold standard of Olympic divers - and saw no reason why he couldn't do even better.

He still doesn't.

"Whether that's realistic or not," Dumais said, "it stuck with me."

With his off-the-charts goal still driving him on, Dumais heads off to this third Olympics seeking his first medal of any color. Deep down, he surely knows he'll never be another Louganis. Heck, there may never be another diver who combines that sort of power, precision and elegance.

But the 28-year-old Californian hasn't given up on the idea of climbing atop the medal stand, bending over slightly and having that precious gold medal draped around his neck.

"The drive is there," Dumais said. "The flame is burning brighter than ever."

Up to now, his Olympic career has been something of a disappointment.

After barely missing a spot on the U.S. team as a 16-year-old, Dumais qualified for the 2000 Olympics and headed off to Sydney as one of the bright new hopes of American diving. Alas, he finished sixth in the springboard and just missed a medal in the debut of synchronized diving, teaming with David Pichler for a fourth-place finish.

Four years later in Athens, Dumais was sure it was going to be his time to shine. But he had to settle for two more sixth-place showings off the 3-meter board, both individually and paired with his brother, Justin, in synchro. In fact, no one on the American diving team won a medal, the first time that's happened in a non-boycotted Olympics since 1912.

Some might have decided it was time to get on with the rest of their lives.

Not Dumais. He returned to the board with even more fervor, willing to go through another four years of eight-hour-a-day training sessions that provided no guarantee of success.

"He's always dreamed of winning a gold medal since he was a young boy," said his coach, former Olympic diver Matt Scoggin. "The fact that he's not achieved that yet keeps the fire burning. Along the way, he's had great hints of high success at multiple times throughout a year, so it just keeps him going.

"He's like, 'I can make this happen. I know I can.'"

Dumais concedes his career feels a bit empty without an Olympic medal.

"The lifetime dream and goal is to win gold. If I don't make it, I'm going to look back and see where I faltered and see what I could have done to change it," he said. "Is there an urgency there? Yes. That's why I've trained so hard. I've trained harder the last four years than I've trained in my life. I'm in the best shape of my life."

The effort has surely paid off.

Dumais has knocked off a few pounds but gained strength with his ferocious sessions in the weight room. He's also worked on his flexibility, looking to improve the subtle techniques - straighter knees on the pike dives, more pointed feet as he's spinning around - that are big hits with the judges.

There's more.

"Mentally," Scoggin said, "he's a little more suited to dealing with the seemingly high-pressurized moments. He's 28. He's matured. He realizes it's important, but it's not that important. As you get older, you start to figure out that it's just a diving meet. He's more relaxed when he competes."

Dumais is still the most intense member of the U.S. team, his eyes delivering a piercing glare as he discusses his goals for Beijing. But he's a little easier on himself than he was in his younger days.

"If a workout is not an absolutely incredible workout, he doesn't fret about it as much as he used to because he knows he can do it at the right time," Scoggin said. "It's like water off a duck's back. It just slides off. He's definitely more confident than he's been in the last few years."

Dumais hasn't thought about his plans beyond Beijing. He could hang around and try to make his fourth Olympic team, but it would be even harder to hold off promising up-and-comers such as 15-year-old Kristian Ipsen.

Better make it happen now.

"The last four years, I've given it everything," Dumais said. "Whether it's pain or anguish, whether it's frustration, whether it's feeling like your life is going deep into a hole and you don't feel like you can climb out, I've given it everything I've got."

Even so, it might not be enough to win a gold medal. Dumais will have to beat the heavily favored Chinese in their home country, though he shows no signs of fear when talking about the Big Red Machine.

"I want them to do well," he said. "I don't want to beat them when they miss. I want to beat them when they're on."

Dumais has been right in the mix over the last few years, piling up a bunch of top-five finishes on the international circuit and occasionally finishing ahead of the Chinese. After a dominant performance on springboard at the U.S. trials in June, he's convinced these Olympics will finally provide the medal he's longed for ever since he saw Louganis for the first time, soaring through the air like he might just come right through the television screen.

"It's been a great trip," Dumais said. "But the journey is not done."