Having Cleared His Mind, This Time He Dives : Olympic Festival: One day after walking off 10-meter platform, Donie places fourth in three-meter event.

With a wave to the crowd and load off his mind, Scott Donie returned to the Palo Alto Natatorium Saturday at the U.S. Olympic Festival, one day after climbing down from the 10-meter platform just before a dive and unexpectedly withdrawing from the preliminary platform competition.

After withdrawing from the platform Friday, Donie told reporters that he had been depressed ever since winning the silver medal on the platform at the 1992 Olympics and that he no longer enjoyed the event.

But Donie returned to the pool Saturday and placed fourth in the three-meter final with a score of 651.39. Mark Lenzi, the 1992 Olympic gold medalist in the three-meter, won the event with a score of 704.31. Mark Bradshaw placed second with a score of 687.09 and P.J. Bogart placed third with a 656.19.

Withdrawing from the platform competition seemed to be a catharsis for Donie because he gave a solid performance in the three-meter final.

“I was enjoying myself for the first time in a long time, playing with the crowd a little bit and talking to my competitors and having a good time like I used to,” Donie said.

That was a world of difference from how he felt Friday. Just before his sixth dive, Donie stared down at the water from on top of the 10-meter board, and all the dissatisfaction of the past year came sharply into focus.

“Thoughts were just racing through my head,” Donie said. “It’s like a cycle of negativity.”

Donie held an handstand position at the edge of the platform for about 30 seconds before he brought his feet down, stood up, and crawled down the ladder.

Donie paced around the tower for about five minutes before walking outside. He returned to the pool within a few minutes and withdrew from the competition.

Donie, originally from Houston, attended Mission Viejo High in 1985. He was a six-time U.S. Junior Olympic champion.

He won the 1990 NCAA three-meter and platform championship as a senior at Southern Methodist and also is a two-time U.S. champion on the platform.

Donie’s mother, Judy, said that she could tell that Donie was unhappy in diving during the past year. She was not surprised that it finally showed.

“I was surprised that it happened in a meet, yeah,” Judy said. “There were warning signs. He would say things like, ‘I get up there and my head feels funny.’ I was very glad he walked down.”

The 10-meter board is a particularly hazardous event, especially if a diver loses concentration. The danger of the event was brought into focus earlier in the festival, when Eileen Richetelli of Milford, Conn., missed a dive and landed on her back during a warm-up dive. She had to be rescued from the water and suffered neck and back bruises.

For Donie, withdrawing from the platform competition was unexpected, but it forced him to come to terms with his depression.

“I’m relieved that I did it,” Donie said. “I’ve been torturing myself trying to keep diving when I haven’t been enjoying it at all. It’s a relief to finally get it out in the open.”

Donie has been dissatisfied since the Olympics, he said, because nothing has measured up to the elation he felt when he won his Olympic silver medal.

“That was such a perfect day for me,” Donie said. “Such perfect timing and a perfect setting and everything came together all at once. It’s like what everyone dreams of, just one moment when everything pulls together.”

Since the Olympics, Donie has changed coaches. He left his coach of nine years, Ron O’Brien, the U.S. Olympic coach, at Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and currently trains with Randy Ableman at Miami.

Donie works odd jobs and makes public speaking appearances in order to support himself.

Donie said that he is uncertain when he will return to competition on the platform, but if he does, it may be as early as the National Diving Championships Aug. 11-15 in Los Angeles.