Decorated diver David Boudia announces his retirement

Over the course of his career, David Boudia became one of the most decorated U.S. athletes in the world of diving. Boudia won four Olympic medals and was the only American individual Olympic gold medalist in diving over the last twenty years.

Boudia shared his thoughts on the news from his social media account:

“What a ride it’s been! The time has to come to officially announce my retirement from the sport that has shown me so much.”

“It’s with great contentment and excitement, I close this chapter and move on to the next. You always hear people say you’ll know when it’s time to hang it up and I never really believed that. I do now. I took my final dive at Olympic Trials in 2021 and the following months were rough. But ever since that dive, not once have I had a feeling of ‘I need to get back in.’”

The 33-year-old, Noblesville, Indiana native made his Olympic debut at the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Boudia became the first American since the legendary Greg Louganis to win a men’s platform gold, when he took the top spot in the London 2012 Olympics.

Boudia also competed in the synchronized platform and springboard competitions, pairing with Nick McCrory and Steele Johnson to take home bronze and silver in the London and Rio 2016 Olympics.

Boudia got the coaching bug when he participated in the FINA World Championships in Budapest this summer and will continue in an assistant role for Paris 2024. He had started coaching last year at his alma mater, Purdue University.

“I look forward to continuing to be immersed in the diving world as a coach and see what the next chapter holds,” he posted. “Eyes set for Paris 2024, just in a new role!”