Nothing More Than a Fluke Dive

Jenny Greene has been at the top of the Eastern diving world since she arrived at Harvard three years ago. But in a rare moment of error this weekend, she may have gained more respect than ever before.

Saturday at Blodgett Pool, Greene dove in the 3-meter diving finals of the Eastern Championships. The two-time defending champion in the event, Greene had already taken the one-meter event Thursday and was the favorite to repeat.

But she got off to a slow start in the finals of the 3-meter and with four dives remaining trailed Brown's Sue Lofgren by 10 points. What happened on her next dive shocked everyone.

It was supposed to be a reverse 2 and 1/2 somersault, a dive where you take off from a forward position and rotate backward towards the board, finally entering a couple of revolutions later. Greene never got there.

"When I got to the end of the board for my takeoff, my legs felt really weak and I couldn't get any power," Greene said. "I tried to scramble, but I knew that I wasn't going to rotate far enough."

Greene made two slow, awkward revolutions, and plunged to the water before finishing the dive, landing flat on her back. The flop gave her three scores of one, the lowest she has ever received in college competition.

The junior pulled herself out of the pool, and with a visibly red back ran to the locker room.

"I was more embarrassed than upset," Greene said. "In the shower I tried to gather myself together. When I realized that I was in eighth place in a competition I should have been winning, I realized there was nothing left to lose."

But everything to gain. Because of the flop, Greene had no real chance to win the event, but needed to prove to herself and the rest of the league that she was still the best.

Another reverse dive loomed as her first challenge. Admittedly unsure, Greene held back and only received average marks for the dive. Still in eighth place.

But then the real Jenny Greene came through for all to see. Two back dives to end the meet. The first was flawless, earning marks between eight and nine, the best of the evening. The second was almost as good, and the judges rewarded her with scores ranging from seven to eight.

Because of her courageous comeback, Greene hurdled from eighth place to third, finishing only 10 points behind Lofgren's winning total.

But more importantly, her point totals from the two events gave her the meet's Oustanding Diver award for the third straight year. And nobody doubted that she earned it.

"Winning the Outstanding Diver award meant much more to me than taking first on the 3-meter board," Greene said. "That dive was such a fluke thing that I can't worry about it. It will never happen again."