Dmitry Sautin

Last call for a legend
Dmitry Sautin is recognized as the world's best all-around diver since Greg Louganis. He has seven Olympic medals, the most of any diver, and is the only diver to win four medals at one Games (the synchronized events made their debuts in 2000). But he has never won gold on the springboard, and that is his goal for Beijing. After earning a bronze in springboard in Athens, Sautin was expected to retire, but he proved he can still compete with a bronze at the 2007 Worlds.

Sydney story
Sautin took home four medals -- one gold, one silver and two bronze -- in Sydney. His two synchro medals (gold in platform, silver in springboard) were unexpected because he had rarely competed in synchro before, and never with Olympic partner Aleksandr Dobroskok. Regardless, the duo came from behind to win the platform event over Xiao Hailiang and Xiong Ni of China. The Chinese team exacted some revenge in the springboard event, winning gold. Sautin was not as successful in the individual events. Coming into the competition as the favorite, he led the springboard competition entering the final dive but botched a reverse 2½ somersault with 1½ twists on that dive, allowing Xiong and Fernando Platas of Mexico to pass him in the closest Olympic springboard event since 1908. Sautin was the defending champion in platform but needed the best dive of the competition on his last attempt to move up and win bronze. Afterwards, he said, "I am exhausted. These events together took up a lot of my energy. Maybe I should have used a different strategy. You can endure the mental pressure, but you just can't control the physical wear."

Still going
Most observers were surprised when Sautin decided to continue diving after Sydney. Although he took time off to heal his injuries and rest his back, he never stopped training, and in 2001, decided to compete again. Sautin says he "needs gold in springboard," and adds, "Diving is the only thing I can do so well. I don't have any profession." To save himself the wear and tear on his body, he cut down on his platform competitions and now focuses exclusively on springboard and synchro springboard.

Atlanta anecdote
At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Sautin was the gold-medal favorite on springboard and platform. Competing with an injured left wrist, he finished fifth on springboard before coming through to win gold on platform. In doing so, he became the first Russian or Soviet diver to win the men's platform title in Olympic competition. Sautin had been taking cortisone shots since early 1995 and had to have surgery on his wrist after the Games concluded.

Dominating
Between Atlanta and Sydney, Sautin was virtually unbeatable. Competing at three European Championships (1997, 1999, 2000), the 1998 World Championships, and two World Cups (1997, 2000), he won nine of the 11 individual events he entered. Sautin's lone setbacks were a sixth-place finish on springboard at the 1999 Euros and a second to China's Tian Liang on platform at the 2000 World Cup. At the 1998 worlds, Sautin's victories on springboard and platform each were by more than 50 points, and his total on platform (750.99) was the most ever in the competition.

Life-threatening situation
Sautin is somewhat fortunate to be alive, much less diving. In 1991, he was badly wounded in a random act of street violence. According to Sautin, he got into an argument at his bus stop while with a group of classmates. Although his memory of the event is hazy, he recalls being stabbed repeatedly by a male attacker, causing him to nearly bleed to death. He spent almost two months in the hospital, but did not miss time from training because it was during his off-season. The assailant was subsequently identified and jailed. Initially, Sautin was scared that he would become a cripple. However, the next summer he won the springboard bronze at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

By a thread
Soon after sweeping the platform and springboard titles at the 1998 Goodwill Games, Sautin had surgery to treat chronic back pain. The treatment eventually cost him several months of training, and as a result he didn't participate at the 1999 World Cup in January. It wasn't until almost a month later that Sautin again started training. That back pain bothered him through Sydney. A few weeks after returning home from the Games, a doctor noticed that the scar on his back was inflamed and saw a small hole in the corner of the scar with some threads inside. The doctor pulled the threads and determined that a piece of bandage was forgotten during the surgery.

Getting started
Nine years after taking up diving, Sautin joined the Soviet national team in 1990. One year later he earned his first major medal -- a platform silver at the European Championships. His first world-level gold came when he upset China's Sun Shuwei to win the platform competition at the 1994 World Championships. He later added a silver on springboard to become the only diver to win two medals at the event.