Josh Katzowitz
Special to Rivals High

Making a splash, by not.

David Finchum could be representing the United States in the Beijing Olympics. Check out this photo gallery of the diver.

A decade later, whatever she saw in her grandson has translated into something much grander. This summer, in fact, he plans to make an even bigger splash than she could have imagined.

When the USA Olympic Diving Trials begin in June, Finchum, a native of Indianapolis who is home-schooled, will have a strong chance to fulfill his goal of making the team that will compete for the gold in Beijing.

Already, he's an eight-time national champion. In the 2004 Olympic Trials, he finished second in the platform event ? when he was 14.

Looks like Grandma Barbara, who dove in the 1950s, was a good talent scout.

"Grandma was teaching him how to do 1?'s, and after that, she begged us to sign him up for classes," said Audrey Finchum, Thomas' mother. "I was already driving six days a week for gymnastics, and I didn't want to do another sport. She finally wore me down."

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Already, Finchum had established himself as a talented gymnast. His older brother, Luke, played baseball at Concordia University in Wisconsin, and his sister, Lindsay, was a gymnast who competed for 10 years.

Thomas, five years younger than his sister, used to follow her around the gym. Soon after he began gymnastics lessons, he was impressing his mother by doing back handsprings off the couch. But he didn't really find his niche in life until Grandma Barbara saw him that one summer day.

"She thought I had potential," Finchum said. "When I started diving lessons, everything came pretty fast. I had the acrobatic background in gymnastics, I didn't have that much fear and I would try anything. I really did enjoy going and playing around in the gym, but I never did anything serious. I just took lessons. ? I wanted to try something else where I could go and compete."

He's certainly competing now. Teaming with David Boudia, he also competes in synchronized diving, and the duo has medaled in 12 international meets in the past three years (including gold at the 2007 Pan American Games and the 2007 AT&T USA Diving Grand Prix).

Finchum could be bitter about the 2004 Trials. Although he finished second on the 10-meter platform, he was left off the team because of procedural rules. But he said he was never all that disappointed with the outcome.

"I was young, and looking back at it, it's something that I can always remember," Finchum said. "It's something that gave me experience. Really, I was 14. I had so many years ahead of me. It was just the beginning."

Pretty mature for such a young kid, huh?

Golden Boy?

Finchum has been focused on diving since he was young and now is one of Americas best chances to win a gold.

He also makes good use of Dr. Chris Carr, the director of sports psychology for USA Diving. That has been important whenever Finchum has suffered through injuries.

Last year, Finchum shot up from a height of 5 feet 6 to 6-0, which ultimately led to back problems. A few months ago, he slipped off the 3-meter springboard and cut his shin. The injury led to about 80 stitches and kept him out of competition for a few weeks.

With the help of Carr, Finchum maintains what he calls a good mental plan.

"There's definitely always those people that can show you things that can make you better," Finchum said. "If people think that's weird, then that's kind of stupid. You want to take every chance to get better."

Now, he's back and, once again, diving well. On May 12, he and Boudia took the synchronized silver medal at the USA Diving Grand Prix in Fort Lauderdale. Finchum hopes that he and his teammates, after a 2004 Olympics in which the Americans didn't win a single diving medal, can find their way back to the podium.

It'd make Grandma Barbara awfully satisfied.

"She's very embarrassed when people say it was grandma who taught him his first dives," Audrey Finchum said. "But she is so proud of him."

MORE: Search for Thomas Finchum | Olympic Coverage | High School Olympians

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