Monday, August 13, 2012

13 Aug 2012 Boudia Family Journal

We have gone through an incredible couple of days - It is so difficult to describe the range of emotions we have experienced as a family, and are so blessed to have such great support.

Going into the Prelims of the 10meter event we felt the normal family pre-competition jitters, our thoughts about David's performance was that he would pace himself the way he normally does in these kind of prelim events that have 30 or more divers.  Over the years David has adopted a skill set to be able to manage long ques between dives, it has served him well at National and International events.

With 6 divers left in the final round David was 17th - with two of the six divers being UK divers who had a legitimate shot at knocking David out of the competition.  We expected Tom Daly to perform his final dive well (he always does!), which left Pete needing a perfect dive to punch his ticket.  I have seen him do this dive perfectly and I knew it was in his wheelhouse to be able to do this.  It proved to be to much for Pete and David made it into the semi's.

What a lesson in humility...

It was late when we returned to our flat (after midnight on Sat), and we had to be back at Olympic park by 0800 the next day for Semi's.

David's fate rested clearly in Gods hands, he had accepted it, his fantastic coach and his wife accepted it - inwardly we all had accepted it; outwardly we were all nervous wrecks!  Seeing David before the start of the Semi's I could see the confidence back in his face - all of us knew after David's first dive that he had recovered from the prelims.

 David's faith has instilled this incredible peace within him - its the foundation for his approach to life and his diving, and its absolutely amazing to see Gods will at work through him.

David finished semi's solidly in 3rd behind the GB's Tom Daly and in front the powerhouse Chinese.  Since David is a bit of an adrenaline junky its only fitting that he compete for the finals in the position he was seeded so he could feed off of the performance of the home town favorite.

We spent the day in Olympic Park with my sister her husband and the Brand family - we are so grateful for such incredible support of David through all of this; and what great fellowship to have family with you through these crazy events. 

Olympic Park was packed with folks from Track and Field venue, the Basketball venue, the BMX track venue - it was literally a sea of people - truly amazing sight. The 10meter Finals was one of the premier events and was strategically scheduled as a  key event to watch, just another item that added to the anxiety of the day. Bob Kravitz one of Indianapolis's key sportswriters caught up with us before the event to wish us luck, it was nice to see the local coverage for David.

After introductions, Sheilagh and I were repositioned in different seats (Bob called them the "Cheapseats") and we got settled in to watch.  Round by round it all seems like a blur, kind of like an out of body experience.  Looking up to see David leading this pack of incredible divers round after round was unbelievable, he was absolutely unflappable!  Sheilagh said her heart was going to explode and I had to remind her to breathe.  When the 5th round scoring summary came up - we were absolutely blown away.  1st 2nd and 3rd separated by less then .15 of a point... Holy Crap!  And David was tied for second with the Chinese diver who was heavily favored to win.  Both David and Bo had higher degree of difficulty dives then Tom which put those two in pretty good shape to overcome the home town favorite. 

This is the part that truly blows me away, with Tom getting a 10 and other high marks it was up to David to "do what he does".  This all seems like a slow motion video to me as I watched David's final Dive.  His takeoff from the tower was strong and clean as he was spinning, he had a great pike out into a comeout just above the 3meter were he lined up the entry and punched into the water - I just knew it was going to be something special and I couldn't contain myself. I realized that I had jumped to my feet screaming - I think the folks in our section thought I was crazy...

Bo needed 102 points to beat David, both Sheilagh and I simply looked at the scoreboard and realized that David had just secured the silver medal we looked at each other shaking our heads in disbelief.  When Bo went into the water hitting his dive a little short we both started thinking "could this really be?"  When the scores came up, all I could do was bury my face in my hands, thank God for revealing his glory and saying a prayer of thanks.  Sheilagh and I stood up and cried in each others arms.


David Boudia - Olympic Champion



8 comments:

  1. Jim - what a wonderfully written final entry to the blog!!! I can tell you with no uncertainty that 1) you aren't crazy and 2) you aren't the only one that screamed when they saw David's last dive. I know there were 3 of us watching on my laptop at a backyard picnic that screamed more than once during the finals.

    Love you guys!!

    B

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  2. I share the same feelings as the previous post. I was at a friends house watching the event with my kids that came and go, and I couldn't contain myself. Davids dive and when I saw the chinese splash a bit I knew it wouldn't catch up to David... The kids were cheering with me during the medal. Amazing experience for afar. What must have been for you guys... indescriptible!!! Laura (uy)

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  3. Jim- I know a lot of people here in the Fort have kept you in prayer and cheering David and your family through the whole Olympics. We are all so very excited for you and realize the hard work and sacrifice given to achieve this great reward. Thank you for sharing through this blog a little bit of London with us!! God Bless you all!!

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  4. Great blog Jim, thanks for sharing your experiences, thoughts, and feelings from those inredible moments! Seriously very cool!!!

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  5. How wonderfully exciting it all was Jim! Sarah and I watched with great anticipation and were marveled at David's skill but more importantly with his composure through it all. You're right; we too could see God's hand in it all, with the peace on David’s face and the wonder he showed as he watched others. We knew he was hoping they would all perform greatly and let the chips fall where they may. (Although I'd venture to say he hoped as we all did his name would come out on top!) And we too jumped and cheered as David won the gold! (There were a few tears too; we were so happy for you all!) You and Sheilagh were the picture perfect parents, sharing the joy of your sons’ performance and the relief of it all being over with each other. Thank you for this great blog, giving all of us back home a better glimpse into the Olympic experience. It has been great! Blessings to you all!

    Bruce and Sarah

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  6. You found the rights words to describe such emotional moments.
    You and your family deserve every moment of glory and happiness.
    Congratulations!!!

    Take care brother,
    Fernando Guedes

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  7. The life is not giving to everybody this feeling what you experience in London. I believe, good things are happening with good peoples. No bigger fact is required than this medal.

    Congratulation to David for the medal, and congratulation to you and to your family because of the support you gave for him!

    GO DAVID!!!

    Poki

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  8. Congratulations! Thank you for sharing your son with the world. As a Hoosier, Boilermaker, Delphi, American family, we have watched with admiration at David's graceful skill and been awed at his incredible persistence and focus. We were thrilled for him just for getting to the Olympics (again), proud of his bronze medal performance, and naturally thrilled that it all came together at the right moment for the gold! May God continue to bless your family! car

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