Ruiz Nabs First USA Diving Medal

China dives for gold and silver, bringing medal count to five

It was a 19-year-old up-and-coming diver from Orlando, Fla., who earned the first Goodwill Games diving medal for the United States. Mark Ruiz, the 1-meter national championship runner-up, earned a bronze medal on that board with 395.52.

"My coach has done a great job with me," stated Ruiz about coach Jay Lerew.  "I have been coming out and doing very well in the springboard and platform. I’ve been consistent and I’ve just been getting so much better."

Goodwill Games divers Yu Zhoucheng and Zhou Yilin collected two more medals for China tonight in the men’s 1-meter event bringing the country’s diving total to five. Yu, the world champion in the event, took the gold medal with a 426.24 point total. His teammate, Zhou, followed close behind with 421.86 to earn the silver medal.

The current men’s 1-meter national champion, Bryan Gillooly, finished fifth, 30 points behind German Andreas Wels. World Championships 1-meter silver medalist, Troy Dumais, of Ventura, Calif., scored a disappointing 305.88 to place 10th out of the 12-man field.

The men’s 1-meter springboard event was the only diving scheduled on Friday at the Nassau County Goodwill Games Swimming & Diving Center. There will be a full day of diving on Saturday, however. Men’s 3-meter synchronized and women’s platform synchronized will be held in the morning while Olympic diving makes its Goodwill Games debut tomorrow night. Women’s 3-meter springboard, one of only four Olympic events, starts at 7 p.m.