INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Divers from around the country are in the Circle City this week with one thing on their minds: Beijing.
At the IU Natatorium on the campus of IUPUI downtown, dreams can come true. For the next five days divers will showcase years of training with the hope of qualifying for this year’s Olympics.
“I think it’s the ultimate goal pretty much for anyone. It’s like the biggest competition in the world, so just getting to go there and know that you’re one of the best would be amazing,” said Ariel Rittenhouse, a springboard diver from California.
Divers ranging in age from 14 to 30 compete in two types of diving: springboard and platform. The highest platform is ten meters high, the equivalent to jumping off of a three-story building.
Many of these divers have been training since they were very young and they are dedicated. They often have to get up at 5 a.m. to jog and practice, and many are home schooled so they have enough time to train.
Platform diver David Boudia from Noblesville has won three national championships. He now has his eye on the ultimate prize. But does he ever get burnt out?
“Definitely, I think every athlete goes through that, and those are the times you need to push through, because that’s what’s going to make you the best diver possible, so when you get tired and sore, you have to push through that,” said Boudia.
This is the fifth time Indianapolis has hosted the Olympic Diving Trials, with the last competition here in 1996.
Indiana Sports Corp. works hard to get the trials. They say it helps the city build on the reputation as a place where big events are held, plus it is fun for the people who live here.
“For Indianapolis folks, it is their best chance to see Olympic competitors this year unless you’re going over to Beijing. We have some of the world’s top athletes, and the nation’s top divers for sure, that have converged on our city to fight for an Olympic birth to represent their country,” said John Dedman, Indiana Sports Corp.
Preliminaries start at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Semifinal and preliminary sessions continue Thursday and Friday, and finals are this weekend. For a complete schedule of events, click here.
Tickets start at $5. You can buy tickets at the door or at Ticketmaster.
Report by Jeannie Crofts, WISH.
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San Francisco–The American Travel Association recently approved its 90 members to receive tourists from China. Among the first authorized travel agencies, five are based in San Francisco, including AAA Sojourns and Go West Tours.
The first group of 80 tourists will be arriving from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The trip lasts around 10 days. According to the American Commerce Department, an average Chinese tourist spends more than $10,00 for a trip to America, higher than what people from other countries spend. In accordance with the Sino-American agreement, by 2011, the number of Chinese tourists to the U.S. each year will be 600,000, an 80 percent increase from 2006. It is expected to stimulate America’s slow economy
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Zydrunas Ilgauskas has been denied permission to play for his native Lithuania in the Beijing Olympics. (David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Cleveland Cavaliers have denied permission to Zydrunas Ilgauskas to play for his native Lithuania in the Beijing Olympics.
Cavs manager Danny Ferry said that Ilgauskas’ history of injuries makes him a high-risk player. He has a history of foot injuries and the team is concerned about his lower back.
Ilgauskas has a contract with the Cavaliers that is not fully insured, meaning he had to ask permission to play in the Olympics.
The centre viewed the Beijing Games as his last chance to play for Lithuania.
The decision makes LeBron James the only member of the Cavaliers to go to Beijing.
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All over Beijing, Olympic countdown clocks tick off the seconds that China has awaited for seven years: the moments until Aug. 8, 2008, at 8:00 pm, when the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics begin.
Perhaps the most important competition involving the Olympics will not take place during 16 days in August, but occurred in 2000 and 2001, when Beijing challenged Istanbul, Osaka, Toronto and Paris for the right to be the host city. Seven years and 26 days before the opening ceremonies would begin, Beijing was awarded the 2008 Olympic Games. Like firing a starter’s pistol, the award began the race to build the IT infrastructure to stage and support one of the world’s largest and most watched sporting events.
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