International Swimming Hall of Fame Honorees By Category - Diver

Li Ting was born April 1, 1987 in the Lingui District in China. She and her twin sister were the youngest of three daughters.

Inspired by the publicity surrounding Romanian gymnastic guru Béla Károlyi’s arrival to her home town of Houston, Texas, in 1981, Laura Wilkinson fell in love with gymnastics and dreamed of being in the 1996 Olympic Games. After years of training her gymnastic career ended when a growth spurt made her too tall for the sport. Then she discovered diving. In spite of being told by one of her teachers that she was too old to start a new sport at the age of 15, Laura plunged in and “fell in love with the sport on the first day.”

When he first appeared at the Voronezh Children’s Sports School at the age of seven, no one could have imagined that this youngster would one day reign as the Czar of Diving. Although physically strong and fearless, he was very inflexible and didn’t know how to swim. Yet Tatiana Starodubtseva, the school’s diving coach saw in him the courage, perseverance and determination that would make him one of the greatest divers in the history of the sport.

She enjoyed a very normal childhood growing up in the city of Baoding in the province of Hebei, until 1988, when a diving scout visited her school. The scout asked the students if anyone wanted to learn how to dive and Guo Jingjing eagerly volunteered, believing she was signing up for swimming.

Before 1973, there were no World Championships, World Diving Cups or Grand Prix Diving series. For divers there was only one chance to test their skills in the international arena every four years and that was at the Olympic Games.

The success of the Chinese in the sport of diving in the Olympic Games since 1984 has been staggering, and many have asked why this is. Invariably, the answer is because of Boxi Liang, considered by many to be the Father of Chinese Diving.

Lao Lishi actually got into the sport of diving by mistake. She would go to her brother’s practices with her mother and became restless, so while looking for something to do, she found a trampoline. The amateur sports school’s coach, Zhong Quansheng noticed the little girl’s coordination and boldness. So, in 1995, Lao Lishi the pre-schooler became a member of the Chikan Diving School of Amateur Sports Schools.

He was born in Nanchang, capital of the Jiangxi province of China in 1981 and began training in diving at the age of six at the Nanchang Sports School. He was selected to be a member of the Jiangxi Provincial Diving Team in 1991, joined the diving team of the PLA Navy in 1995 and became a member of the National Team in 1998.

When Nathalie fell into the swimming pool at the age of four and almost drowned, her mother decided she needed swimming lessons to keep her safe. Within four years, she was competing in synchro as a member of the Walnut Creek Synchronized Swimming Team.

Tian Liang began diving at the age of seven. He was very quick to learn and was hard working. He joined the National Team in 1993 at the age of 13. Nicknamed “child prodigy”, he led a new generation of Chinese divers in the 10 meter platform event. His technical style featured a strong explosive force, vigorous movements and agility in execution.

Diving is a quiet, precise sport. The actual take-off jump happens within a split second and the meditative moment before the jump determines the dives success or failure.

Frank Kurtz grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, a decidedly independent child who began making legends early. Tired of his step-father's beatings, he ran away from home when he was 12. Like a lot of runaways in the 1920's, he found a job hawking newspapers. In a pattern that would repeat itself throughout his life, his charm, winning personality, and sense of adventure soon brought him the attention of wealthy patrons at the Kansas City Athletic Club (KCAC).

The land-locked state of Iowa had a knack for producing aquatic competitors in the first half of the 20th century. Famous for its swimmers, Olympic champion Wally Ris and coach Dave Armbruster, divers Lyle Draves and Kent Ferguson and synchronized swimmer Beulah Gundling, non the least was Larry Griswold, a 1932 graduate of the University of Iowa and a four-time varsity letterman in diving, wrestling, track and field, and gymnastics.

Sun Shuweistarted diving at the age of nine at the Guangdong Provincial Sparetime Sports School. At only 1.55 meters and 45 kilograms, he was a small athlete who relied on perfect technique to score high points.