INDIANAPOLIS - Troy Dumais moved into elite company in USA Diving history Saturday, but his primary goal is still on the horizon.The 28-year-old Californian qualified for his third Olympic Games, handily winning the men's 3-meter springboard competition at the Olympic trials at the Indiana University Natatorium. He will become just the second American man to appear in three diving Olympics, following Greg Louganis, who competed in four Games. Sunday, Laura Wilkinson seeks to join the club in the 10-meter finals, hoping to become the sixth woman to do it.Christina Loukas, 22, earned the other Olympic berth awarded Saturday, winning the women's springboard for her first trip to the Games. Two more berths will be secured in the final day of the trials Sunday the winners of the men's and women's 10-meter competition. A second diver in each event and the synchro teams will be chosen following a selection camp in Knoxville, Tenn. July 2-6. The top six finishers at the trials will be invited to the camp. Dumais finished sixth in the springboard in his two previous Olympics and said he has been working for Beijing since his disappointing finish in Athens in 2004."The last four years, I've given it everything, whether it's pain, whether it's anguish, whether it's frustration," he said. "It has been a great trip but the journey is not done."He is aiming to beat the powerful Chinese for gold. He says experience is a factor that may help him, but not the major one."I think it's the drive," he said. "Not doing what I have been capable of in past Olympics it burns a hole in your stomach. It ticks you off."Dumais entered Saturday's finals with a huge lead, 77 points, and finished with 1552.90 points, about 88 ahead of second-place Chris Colwill of Brandon, Fla."I wanted to treat this like the Olympics," Dumais said of the final day. "In my mind, I said I'm behind. I wanted to push myself because I'm not going to be 90 points ahead of the Chinese going into the last round."He had a lead of 102 points after four rounds before missing a reverse 3 somersault tuck in the second-to-last round. "That's usually one of my best dives," he said. Colwill, a three-time NCAA champion for the University of Georgia, finished second by more than 100 points, making him a strong favorite to win the second men's berth at the selection camp.Two-time Olympian Mark Ruiz, who retired after the Athens Games and mounted a comeback nine months ago, failed in his attempt to earn a third Olympic berth. He finished 11th in the trials, missing an invitation to the selection camp. "Good or bad, I'm happy that I came back," he said. "I'm glad I did it because honestly I can look back and not have any sort of regrets at all."Ruiz confirmed he's retiring again for good. "That was it. I'm not pulling off another Michael Jordan," he said.Loukas, an Indiana University senior-to-be from Riverwoods, Ill., also took a big lead into the final and won comfortably over Nancilea Foster of Conroe, Texas, who edged Californians Allison Brennan and Ariel Rittenhouse for the silver. "I'm a little overwhelmed right now," said Loukas, who finished fourth at the FINA World Cup event in the Beijing pool earlier this year.
