Wilkinson talks about triumphs, trials in pursuit of Olympic gold

By Laura Drell

Special to the Pflag

As if training for the Olympics and winning a gold medal is not hard enough, U.S. diver Laura Wilkinson did it on a broken foot.

Wilkinson, whose uncle operates a Pflugerville business, traveled to Pflugerville last week where she told her story at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon, sponsored by Frost Bank.Wilkinson was 22 years old at the time, and all of her teammates were in their teens, but they encouraged her and helped her to feel like a part of the team.

“I had hope,” Wilkinson said. Wilkinson’s foot did heal enough for her to jump off of, and she made it to the trials and then to the Olympics, where she won the gold medal.

“It just hit me when I was waiting for them to call my name that this is it, I am walking out my dream right now … it didn’t even matter what happened after that dive, just knowing I was in the moment, that was one of my favorite, favorite moments,” Wilkinson said.

Wilkinson said that sometimes people will try to tell you that your dreams can’t come true, but, she said, “sometimes, [dreams] do come true. That makes them worth fighting for.”

The University of Texas graduate was an Olympic platform gold medalist in 2000, a World Cup platform gold medalist in 2004, and a world championship gold medalist in 2005. Wilkinson’s website explains that she is the “only woman in history to earn all three titles on platform.”

The 33-year-old also competed in the 2004 Olympics, where she finished fifth, and in the 2008 Olympics where she finished ninth. She is in the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

Wilkinson started the Laura Wilkinson Foundation, which seeks to provide training opportunities to young divers and promote the sport. She directs training in the Woodlands Texas, and is seven months pregnant.

When asked how motherhood will affect her athletic involvement, she said she has no idea: “I’m just going to figure out the motherhood thing first.”