GBI Magazine

I just tried to learn what they did," Boudia said, referring to shows featuring the aforementioned judges. "In diving we watch our dives all the time to see what we can do better, so we'd watch YouTube and see what we could do to make it somewhat interesting, I guess. But it's something new that I had never done before, so as much as I could learn in that short period of time is what I needed to do." Following his victory in the London Olympics in August, Boudia says he never could have imagined getting into television. But when producers for "Splash" came to him, particularly with legendary diver Greg Louganis as the competitors' mentor, he wanted in. "That was definitely not what I was thinking 'Oh, I'm going to get a reality TV show now,' " Boudia said. "It really just fell into my lap. "I saw an opportunity where I could get the sport of diving's name out, even if it's with celebrities and even if it's not exactly what Olympic diving is. It's more exposure for diving, and exposure for myself. It's good for diving and myself, trying to build a brand where we can potentially make a career out of this for the long run." On the show, Boudia critiques the dives of celebrities such as NFL defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, former child TV actor Keshia Knight Pulliam and NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. On an early episode, the six-time NCAA champion demonstrated a standing back flip for a celeb, showing the control needed to execute the dive. The show, which airs on ABC, has been physically demanding for the contestants, with four of the first six celebs having withdrawn from the competition. Several have been injured, with Extreme skier Rory Bushfield rupturing an eardrum and Katherine Webb, the 2012 Miss Alabama, suffering a back injury. "It's a sport that doesn't look like you can injure yourself very much," Boudia said, "but when you get down and dirty into the training of it, it can rock your world." Boudia wrapped up filming of the finale on April 17, ending weeks of traveling back and forth from West Lafayette to Los Angeles. But he says he enjoyed the experience. "I didn't know what to expect or how I was supposed to be judging," Boudia said. "But the set made it extremely easy because you didn't see any cameras at all. The audience members were there, but it was almost like I was watching diving like I would back at home and trying to critique the celebrities. It was a natural fit." After a few weeks at home, Boudia will be doing traveling of another sort soon. He will compete in the USA FINA Grand Prix on May 9-12 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., his first competition since the Olympics. He's been back in the pool since only early December, after taking time off following London. "Being out four months definitely changed things, but I think now I'm back in full swing," he said, "and just excited and ready to get competing again." After that, he'll head to the World Championship Trials in Tallahassee, Fla., in mid-May, attempting to qualify for the World Championships in the summer in Barcelona. Between his various engagements, Boudia is spending as much time as possible in West Lafayette, where he resides with his wife, Sonnie. On April 7, he was a presenter for the first-annual Golden Pete Awards, an event to celebrate Boilermaker athletics. "That was awesome," he said. "I wish they would have had something like that when I was competing at Purdue, but I think it brings the entire athletic program together to celebrate what they accomplished in the past year. I was honored to be a part of that as a presenter. "It makes me feel like I'm still part of Purdue, which is always good." j Gold & Black IllustrateD • volume 23, issue 5com

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