Via GoDuke.com

It has been a whirlwind few weeks since Duke divers Nick McCrory and Abby Johnston have returned home from the 2012 London Olympics with medals. The two have done talk shows, radio shows, and now thrown out first pitches at baseball games.

McCrory and Johnston threw out ceremonial first pitches at the Triple-A Durham Bulls game on Thursday night. Fittingly, it was done in unison. Catching their first pitches were big leaguers Will Rhymes and Chris Archer.

Johnston tweeted that her throw “didn’t quite make it to home plate.”

After throwing out the first pitches, they hung around to meet fans (there were around 9,000 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park), sign autographs, show off their medals, and talk on air with the Bulls radio crew.

The two received pointers from Duke assistant baseball coach Joe Jordan on how to actually throw a baseball.

Duke’s Abby Johnston, along with her partner Kelci Bryant, won the silver medal in Sunday’s 3m synchronized diving final. It was the USA’s first medal in the sport. Since the inception of the sport in 2000, the US had been 0-for-12.

Johnston and Bryant successfully completed the last of their five dives (a back 2 1/2 somersault) to secure their second place finish. They finished with a score of 321.90 points.

The two finished fourth in February’s World Cup.

China’s Wu Minxia and He Zi won gold with 346.20 points. It is Wu’s third consecutive gold medal and fifth overall Olympic diving medal.

*Fellow Duke diver Nick McCrory is looking to follow Johnston’s footsteps and pick up a medal on Monday in the 10m synchronized diving final with partner David Boudia (who is his competition in the 10m individual diving later in the Olympics). Check out an article on McCrory in the Sacramento Bee.

How strong is the Duke presence? So strong that one of the headlines on FoxSports’ site has a title that says exactly that. And it is not an article about Coach K.

It is about the US Olympic divers. Duke has two members on the diving team (along with the coach), and both have a legitimate chance to win medals. Check out the article on Nick McCrory (who will compete in two events) and Abby Johnston.

Johnston gets going on Sunday (July 29th) in the 3m synchronized finals. The  finals begin at 10am ET (3pm London time) and will be televised later Sunday night on NBC (7pm-midnight).

McCrory gets started on Monday (July 30th) with the 10m synchronized finals at 10am ET (3pm London time). It will be televised on NBC sometime between 8pm and midnight.

He will be back in action on August 10th in the 10m platform preliminaries. They begin at 2pm ET (7pm London time) and will be broadcast on NBC (8pm-midnight). If McCrory qualifies, the semifinals will be held on August 11th at 5am ET (10am London time) with the finals at 3pm ET (8pm London time). The 10m platform final will be shown on NBC from 8pm-midnight.

Coach K will be coaching the favored US team in London. The US kicks off their Olympic schedule on Sunday (July 29th) against France at 9:30am ET. However two of his former players will be competing in the Olympics.

Luol Deng is a member of the British team. The hometown team begins their Olympic schedule on Sunday (July 29th) against Russia at 3pm ET. Deng is in Group B, while the US is in Group A.

Marty Pocius is a member of the Lithuanian team. They kick off their Olympic schedule on Sunday (July 29th) against Argentina at 5:15pm ET. Lithuania is in Group A and Pocius will face his former coach on August 4th.

» Continue reading “Strong Duke Presence in London Olympics”

Duke diving coach Drew Johansen was named the US Olympic Diving coach for the London Olympics that begin in less than two weeks.

He has been the US National Team coach for seven years and was the head coach for the 2011 World Championship team in Shanghai.

While at Duke, Johansen has helped Abby Johnston and Nick McCrory become elite divers, as both will be competing for the US in the Olympics.

Johnston will be pairing with Kelci Bryant in the women’s synchronized 3-meter competition on Sunday, July 29th. It will be a straight final with five rounds of dives.

McCrory is expected to medal at the Olympics. He will be competing in both the men’s synchronized 10-meter platform event on Monday, July 30th (which is a straight final like the women’s) and the individual event. His biggest competition in the individual event is his partner in the synchronized event, David Boudia. The individual 10-meter event will begin with a preliminary round on Friday, August 10, and conclude on Saturday, August 11.

Here is what Johansen had to say, as he compared the Duke diving program with the Olympics:

“One of my philosophies as a coach is to follow the philosophy of Olympism, which is in the charter for the International Olympic committee,” Johansen said. “By definition, it’s the blending of sport with culture and education. And that really defines Duke in big way – the blending of sport with culture and education. So one of the reasons I came to Duke was that Duke’s mission and the Olympic mission are very similar.”

Duke will be sending more than just Coach K to the 2012 London Olympics. At least two athletes will be heading to London this July.

Divers Abby Johnston and Nick McCroy won the Olympic trials for synchronized diving.

Johnston and her partner Kelci Bryant won the women’s 3-meter synchronized springboard event by .42 points. Bryant was an Olympian in 2008. The women’s 3-meter synchronized competition at the 2012 Olympic Games will be a straight final with five rounds of dives on Sunday, July 29.

Here is what Johnston had to say following the victory:

“I can’t believe it. I’m in shock. I keep looking at the scoreboard to make sure it’s real. This is a dream come true.”

On the men’s side, McCroy and partner David Boudia won the 10-meter synchronized platform event by a WIDE margin. They picked up three scores of 10s in the final round. The two competed at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The men’s 10-meter synchronized event will be a straight final with six rounds of diving on Monday, July 30 at the London Aquatics Centre.

McCrory also qualified for the 10-meter men’s platform event, as he came in second place to synchronized partner Boudia in the Olympic qualifying event. The men’s individual 10-meter platform competition will be held August 10-11 in London.

*Eight current Duke swimmers begin their quest for a spot in the London Olympics today, as the Olympic Team Trials begin in Omaha and last through July 2nd.