Laura Wilkinson

Laura Wilkinson’s first leap of faith from the 10 meter platform was at the age of 15. After being told by one of her teachers that she was too old to start a new sport, Laura plunged into diving anyway. Nine months later, she was kicked off of her high school diving team for being a “waste of space.” The next year, Laura won her first US National Title, made the US National Team, and earned a bronze medal at the World Cup.

Laura overcame great obstacles to win her first major international gold medal, the 1998 Goodwill Games. She is the only American diver to ever win a gold medal at this prestigious competition. In 1999 after winning her second NCAA Division 1 title, Laura left her college scholarship behind to return home to chase her Olympic dream.

Shortly before the 2000 Olympic Trials, Laura shattered her right foot in a training accident. But with a persevering heart, she was not deterred by this injury. Together, Laura and her coach, Kenny Armstrong, designed unique training methods to utilize the mental aspects of diving to keep Laura’s “head in the game.” She had just three weeks back in the water to physically train prior to the Olympic Trials. The mental training began to pay off when Laura won the Trials making her first Olympic Team. Three months later, while wearing a protective shoe to walk up the ladder to the platform, Laura made history in Sydney, Australia.

Beating what many said were impossible odds in one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history, Laura, starting in eighth place and with a broken foot, came from behind to win the 2000 Olympic platform gold medal.

Laura has also won the 2004 World Cup and the 2005 World Championships, becoming the first woman in history to win all three coveted world titles in platform diving. Along the way, she has won 19 US National Titles, been voted by the American public the 2000 US Olympic Spirit Award winner and was nominated for an ESPY award. Laura has also been inducted into the University of Texas Women’s Athletics Hall of Honor, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, the Texas Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame, the World Acrobatics Society Gallery of Legends, and the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

People always notice something that sets Laura apart from her competitors, her smile. She smiles during the most pressure packed and fierce competitions, almost like she’s removed from the situation, acknowledging her family and teammates in the stands. Laura explains, “I smile because I love what I do. I make a commitment before the competition to enjoy the experience however it turns out.”

Today Laura enjoys sharing her story on stage to audiences of all sizes with many different themes and lessons always woven into her Olympic journey. She has also done color commentary for the sport of diving with several networks covering events from collegiate conference championships to Olympic Trials to the Youth Olympic Games to the Diving World Series. Laura also had the opportunity to work at the 2012 London Olympic Games interviewing Olympic athletes and their moms for P&G and NBCOlympics.com. At the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Laura was a reporter and analyst for NBC on the pool deck.

In 2017, following a nine year retirement, Laura returned to competition and placed second at the US National Championship. As she continued training toward the 2020 Olympic Games, it was discovered that Laura would need to undergo an Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF). During her recovery from this procedure on her neck, she created an online course specifically for competitive athletes called Confident Competitor to help eliminate performance anxiety and help athletes approach competitions with confidence.

After spending a year recovering and working her way back up to the 10 meter platform, Laura began to compete again in early 2020. Then with the pandemic, the Olympic Games were postponed for the first time in history.

With the perspective that she had been given the gift of time, Laura continued to train hard despite not being allowed into any platform facilities until just three months before Olympic Trials. Even with minimal preparation, Laura was able to final at the Olympic Trials at the age of 43 with her children cheering her on in the stands.

Laura wrote a book called Life at 10 Meters, Lesson from an Olympic Champion. Each chapter highlights Laura’s mindset and focus as she grew, competed and trained to ultimately reach the pinnacle of sport. As Laura transitioned from childhood to competitive diver to Olympian to adulthood to a mother, there have been many roadblocks, triumphs, challenges, sorrows and unimaginable joy. This crazy, winding journey has taught Laura that we are all capable of far more than we often imagine, and we were created for a much bigger purpose.

Laura also hosts a podcast called Pursuit of Gold. The podcast seeks to equip athletes with the most effective tools that will help them reach their biggest goals in sport through conversations with elite and Olympic athletes, sports professionals, coaches, and experts. In these conversations we unlock the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual tools that shape the whole athlete and generate peak performance.

Laura is also wife to Eriek and mommy to four amazing children by birth and adoption (China & Ethiopia). For more information or to contact, please visit: LauraWilkinson.com