of the press. They keep running into reporters and, like, the retired Olympians who are here to do puff pieces on the news.”
“That’s amazing.”
Tim shrugged. It was amazing, but he’d gotten his fill of the press. “You feel ready for today?”
“Oh, yeah. I feel loose. Our practice dives this week have been pretty solid, yeah?”
“We’re good, yeah. I feel pretty confident. The trick, though, is to stay loose and calm. If you get nervous, you’ll tighten up and make mistakes. Maybe you don’t think you’ll be nervous, but I can tell you from experience that the pressure of competition? With all the people watching from the stands and the cameras and the Olympic logo everywhere? It can get to you.”
“I’ve got my headphones in my bag.”
“Good. And remember to jump up, not out, off the platform so we sync up better, like we practiced the other day.”
“Of course. I got it, Timmy. We got this.”
Tim appreciated Jason’s confidence. “Yeah. I think maybe we do.”
Chapter 11
Transcript of TBC Olympic coverage, profile of Timothy Swan
BELL (voiceover): Timothy Swan has been hailed by many as the next Greg Louganis. He’s an American diver who is universally agreed to have the most beautiful form in the air. He’s the first American diver in a while not to specialize but to compete in both the platform and springboard. And he’s an all-around athlete, getting his start in gymnastics and swimming before focusing on diving. This diving prodigy is a hometown boy. He grew up in Brookfield, Colorado, taking swimming, diving, and gymnastics lessons in nearby Boulder, and then he attended the University of Colorado, where he won the US Diving Championships four years in a row. He continues to train in Boulder with his coach, Donald Westfield.
SWAN: I love the mountains. It’s so beautiful here.
BELL (voiceover): Four years ago, Swan achieved the impossible. At the age of twenty, he performed a series of near-perfect dives and upset the Chinese divers, universally agreed to be unbeatable. But Timothy Swan was focused and flawless, and he comes to Madrid to defend his title in the ten-meter platform.
SWAN: I think I can do well on the springboard too. I missed it four years ago by a handful of points, but it’s there, that podium. I think I can get to it.
BELL (voiceover): But it’s been a difficult four years. He continues to rake up medals at home, but injuries kept him off the podium at the World Championships… twice. Some have questioned whether he’s still good enough to compete internationally, or if that Olympic gold medal was a fluke. And then there’s this.
SWAN (in an online video): This is a hard thing to do, but it’s really important for me to do it. I want my fans to know the real me. So I need to tell you, I’m gay. And this is my boyfriend, Patterson.
BELL: Do you have any regrets?
SWAN: About coming out? No. Never. Even after everything that’s happened… I mean, I get letters. I got one just last week, actually. This kid is a swimmer, not a diver, but he told me… he said his parents won’t approve of him, but he’s gay and he wants to be an Olympic athlete, and my coming out helped him think it was possible. And that’s everything, you know? If my coming out inspired only that one kid, it would be important. But I get letters like that a lot, hundreds of kids, and it’s amazing.
BELL (voiceover): But not everything has been amazing. A whirlwind romance with actor Patterson Wood culminated in a marriage proposal this January. It looked like Swan was on top of the world. But his happiness was short-lived. The couple split this May, mere weeks before the US Olympic Trials.
SWAN: It was hard emotionally. But diving saved me. Getting ready for the Trials and now the Olympics helped get my mind off of what happened with my relationship.
BELL: And how is training going?
SWAN: Really well. I have a new synchro partner, Jason. He’s a fantastic diver. Future of US Diving. You heard it here first.
BELL: Synchronized diving is a relatively new Olympic event. It’s why a lot of divers choose to specialize in the platform or the springboard. They’ll do two competitions in their specialty, the synchro and the individual. But you’re still doing the individual springboard event as well.
SWAN: I decided to give it a go. I did well at Trials.
BELL (voiceover): He did so well, he was the US men’s top qualifier