The platform was only 33 feet above the swimming pool. To Ben Grado, a sophomore at Arizona, it may as well have been a mile above a crocodile-infested river. “They want me to dive off this?” he thought. “And judge me?”
“My fear of heights was beyond what anyone can say,” Grado said. “You can’t imagine how fearful I was.”
That was all of three years ago. Today he’s the NCAA platform champion and Tuesday in Federal Way, Wash., he goes after a berth on the U.S. Olympic diving team. After that, the light he dives under goes from bright to neon when he moves to Las Vegas and joins Cirque du Soleil.
From scared to look down to dare to look up, how did Grado do it? His story begins in spring 2007 during his senior year at Conifer High School. Up to that point, Grado’s athletic life consisted of a few impressive, albeit injury-plagued, gymnastics years in his early teens.
A classmate on the swim team saw him do some abnormally well-choreographed tumbling on the school lawn. He suggested Grado try out for the diving team.
“At first I didn’t know if I can handle the Speedo-wearing thing,” Grado said.
He learned quickly he had nothing to be modest about. He was a natural. His acrobatics transferred from the grass to the water to where he won state in the 1-meter springboard.
“I never expected to be as good as I am,” Grado said. “Gymnastics had a big impact on my development in diving.”
Only one problem. Conifer attracts a lot of hikers and hunters but not many college diving coaches. He was going to enroll at Colorado and major in nursing but gave diving one more shot. He sent a grainy diving video to Arizona’s then-diving coach, Michele Mitchell.
She bit. His inexperience showed at first. In one meet he was disqualified for not recognizing the number codes and doing the wrong dive.
That didn’t last long. He was named Pac-10 newcomer of the year in 2008. He took third in the 1-meter dive at the U.S. nationals in 2009. In 2010 he took sixth at the NCAAs in the 3-meter but after reconstructive shoulder surgery he almost hung it up.
Instead, knowing how far he’d come in such a short time, he wondered how much further he could go. Apparently, a mile high isn’t the limit. After redshirting, the next spring he became the first Arizona diver since current Wildcats diving coach Omar Ojeda 11 years ago to sweep all three conference diving titles.
Topping it off, in March, in the same pool where he’ll compete today, he won the NCAA platform title, the first diving champion in school history.
“Right now it’s hard to believe, just winning a national title in general,” he said. “I didn’t think it would happen. Now preparing for the Olympic Trials is icing on the cake. Whether I make the Olympic team or not, it’s enough to go this far.”
He has a shot at one of the two spots in platform and springboard although he has never placed higher in nationals than third. David Boudia, a 16-time national champion and three-time USA Diving athlete of the year, is the favorite in platform followed by Duke’s Nick McCrory, last year’s national champ.
In the springboard, Troy Dumais goes for his sixth Olympic team and fends off Khristian Ipsen, the NCAA 1-meter champ from Stanford, and 2008 Olympian Chris Colwell.
Prelims and semis in platform begin Tuesday and in springboard on Wednesday. Finals are Saturday and next Sunday, respectively.
If Grado doesn’t make the team, he’ll be ready for Las Vegas. He applied about seven months ago and received recommendations from his diving coaches. When Cirque du Soleil checked him out they said he’d be the first one they’d call when the new season begins.
“I have no strings, no commitments,” Grado said. “I’ll do what I can do. If I make the Olympic team, I’ll put it on hold.”
John Henderson: 303-954-1299, jhenderson@
