Louganis Makes It Look Easy : He Becomes 4-Time Olympic Qualifier; Bradshaw Takes 2nd

You can go under for the third time and still come up for a fourth. Greg Louganis is living proof, as well as waterproof, because by winning the men’s 3-meter springboard competition at Friday night’s U.S. Olympic diving trials, Louganis became a four-time Olympic qualifier--and he hasn’t even had his 30th birthday yet. Nor his 29th, for that matter.

Louganis will be accompanied to South Korea next month by first-time Olympian Mark Bradshaw, 26, a former collegiate champion from Ohio State, who won a nip-and-tuck-with-a-twist battle with Kent Ferguson that went down to the final dive, even though Ferguson dislocated his left shoulder on the evening’s first dive.

Bruce Kimball, meanwhile, placed sixth, no better nor worse than his chances figured to be before his Aug. 1 traffic incident in Florida that resulted in two deaths and six more injured. Kimball’s hopes are considerably higher in the platform competition that begins today and ends Sunday, but protesters continued Friday to collect petition signatures against the 1984 silver medalist’s possible presence in the Seoul Olympics.

Nobody said boo to Kimball at poolside. There was not a discernible objection from the crowd at the Indiana University natatorium during either his introduction or his performance. He was applauded, same as anyone else.

Most of the gallery’s interest, aside from that given to Louganis in his wire-to-wire victory, went to the race for second place, which changed hands after the sixth, eighth and ninth rounds of the 11-round finals. With two rounds to go, Bradshaw’s edge over Ferguson was 57/100ths of a point.

The next round put some daylight between them, 1,286.94 to 1,278.81, and both chose to close with the same dive, a 1 1/2 somersault with 3 1/2 twists, which has a high degree of difficulty. Bradshaw, going first, got five 9.0s and two 8.5s from the judges, forcing Ferguson to be almost perfect on his attempt in order to take second.

He was in no shape to do so, even if he could. A doctor had popped Ferguson’s dislocated left shoulder back into place earlier in the evening, so he was lucky to still be competing. His final dive was game, but not good enough: three 9.0s, four 8.5s and an 8.0.

It left Ferguson in third place, which is exactly where he finished in the 1984 springboard trials. And, because of the shoulder pain, he will withdraw from this weekend’s platform finals.

Exasperating?

“Actually, I feel like I did a hell of a job out there,” Ferguson said.

A former University of Michigan diver, Ferguson first hurt his shoulder earlier this year, then felt a twinge two days ago while at practice. On his opening dive Friday, an uncomplicated inward one straight, the joint popped out of place.

“I thought, ‘That’s it. I’m outta here. Scratch me. No way I can go on like this,’ ” Ferguson said.

Dr. Ben Rubin, though, relocated the shoulder on the spot, and Ferguson was astonished at its flexibility. Not only did he continue diving, but he held onto second place through five rounds.

Louganis knew what was going on, and got caught up in the runner-up fight, right to the end. After Ferguson finished, Louganis said: “I had to remind myself: ‘Wait a minute! I gotta dive, too!’ I had one dive left myself.”

By then, Louganis was so far ahead of the others that he could have belly-flopped into the water like Shamu at Sea World and still won.

The suspense surrounding the other Olympic berth was particularly affecting a party of 40 or so family members of Bradshaw and his wife, former University of Arkansas diver Lisa Twombley, who occupied a large section of the bleachers. All wore identical blue T-shirts, with stenciled lettering identifying them as “Bradshaw’s Cousin,” “Bradshaw’s Uncle,” “Bradshaw’s Friend” and such.

Lisa’s shirt read: “Mark’s Wife and Baby.” She is pregnant, and her due date is Sept. 12, when Mark is due to be in Seoul.

“I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” he said. “I feel bad, because I know she wants to be there (at the Olympics), and because she’s been a real fan. I dunno. Maybe she can have it late.”

When Bradshaw made the team, his wife, who competed in the 1984 trials, patted out rhythmic applause lightly on her tummy. Around her, relatives and friends jumped and yelled, forming quite a happy camp for a diver who was born in the small community of Happy Camp, Calif.

“It was funny,” Bradshaw said. “As much as they tried to help, they almost hurt, because they’d be so rowdy every time I stepped on the board that I almost started laughing and couldn’t dive.”

As for Louganis, he simply goes on and on.

He is a different person today, anything but shy. He is not, however, a different diver. Since 1976, Greg Louganis has been to the Olympic trials in both springboard and platform diving. Never has he finished worse than first.