LONDON -- After finishing fifth in the 3-meter springboard, Troy Dumais can take solace in one thing: It wasn't sixth.
The former University of Texas star was sixth in the 2000 Olympics, sixth in the 2004 Olympics and sixth in the 2008 Olympics. He did one place better this time, with 498.35 points."Honestly, placing didn't matter," said Dumais, who trains in Austin. "I knew what I had to do coming in here, and I did it. I'm not in control of the scores. I'm not in control of the divers. I'm not in control of the judges. All I'm in control of is my diving, and that's what I did, and I put it all on the line."Russian Ilya Zakharov totaled 555.90 points to beat world champion Qin Kai of China by only 14.15 on Tuesday. China's He Chong, the defending Olympic champion, took the bronze with 524.15 points. Germany's Patrick Hausding also finished ahead of Dumais with 505.55."It was an amazing contest," Dumais said. "I knew going in it was going to be really, really difficult, and on my fourth and fifth dive, I missed my lineups and my hands on my dives, so I didn't clean them up as much as possible."But I'm very happy with how I dove. I enjoyed the moment. I was up on the board....I loved it, and it was a great experience to be a part of such a great contest."Dumais, 32, scored 88.40 in what he said is his final Olympic dive. Dumais left with a smile on his face."It was a heck of a dive to end on," he said. "...I'm happy with how I dove."Dumais said he will compete in the national championships and has plans to continue his career through the world championships to help "the new kids come up."Dumais is the first male diver to compete in four Olympics. (Greg Louganis qualified for four Olympics but missed the boycotted '80 Games.)Dumais won his first medal earlier in these Olympics as he and Kristian Ipsen won bronze in the men's synchronized 3-meter springboard."It calms my nerves," Dumais said. "It makes me feel good about myself. But I'm an athlete. I'm a competitor. I could win a contest, and I would find a way to try and make myself better."
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