Laura Ryan (born July 4, 1992) is an American international diver from

Elk River, Minnesota Elk River is a city in Sherburne County, Minnesota, United States, approximately 34 miles northwest of Minneapolis. It is situated at the confluence of the Mississippi and Elk Rivers. The population was 25,835 at the 2020 census, making Elk Ri ...

. She competes in one and three meter individual springboard diving and 10 meter

platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

as well as three meter synchronized springboard. She dove collegiately at Indiana University (IU) and the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

(UGA). At UGA she was a two-time

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

champion.

Diving career

Early career

Ryan graduated from Elk River High where she was coached by Jason Baumann. She won the

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

state high school championship in 2007 and was a three-time

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU) national champion.

Collegiate career

Ryan began her college career at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

(IU) and as a freshman during the 2010–2011 season won platform, finished second on 1-meter and third on 3-meter at the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

championship. As an IU sophomore the next year, she finished eighth on 3-meter and 12th on both 1-meter and platform at the

NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships The NCAA Women's Division I Swimming and Diving Championships is an annual college athletics, college championship in the United States. The meet is typically held on the second-to-last weekend (Thursday-Saturday) in March, and consists of indivi ...

. For her junior year, Ryan transferred to the

(UGA) in

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...

and trained under UGA dive coach

Dan Laak Dan Laak is the head dive coach of the University of Georgia (UGA) men's and women's diving teams. He has also coached internationally as part of the U.S. Olympic dive team coaching staff. Diving career Laak dove collegiately at the University of ...

. As a junior Ryan was selected as a First-Team All-SEC member after finishing first on 3-meter, third on platform and 18 on 1-meter at the SEC Championships en route to helping UGA win a fourth consecutive SEC Women's conference title. She then finished fifth on platform and 13th on 3-meter at the NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships to help the UGA women win the National championship. Ryan was also selected by USA Diving for the Olympic Performance Squad, the United States Canada Cup Team and the FINA Grand Prix team. Ryan also earned a spot on the UGA Athletic Director's honor roll and was selected by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America as a First-Team Scholar All-American as a psychology major. Before Ryan's senior season in 2013-2014, she suffered a broken kneecap that hampered her most of the season; however, she rebounded with a first-place finish in 3-meter and platform and a third-place finish in 1-meter to help UGA win its fifth consecutive Women's SEC championship. At the NCAA Championships, she won individual championships in both the 1 meter and 3 meter springboard events and finished third in the 10 meter platform event as UGA won a second consecutive Women's team national championship. Academically, Ryan was selected for the UGA Student-Athlete Leadership Academy, the Ramsey Scholarship for Academic/Athletic Excellence, the UGA Athletic Director's Honor Roll and the Dean's List.

International career

In 2013, Ryan teamed with Meghan Houston to win the bronze medal in women's synchronized 3-meter at the

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

Kazan, Russia Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an ...

, and Ryan also won silver in the team competition. The 2014 season marks Ryan's fifth consecutive year as a member of the United States national diving team (2010 - 2014). Ryan has also qualified for the 19th

FINA Diving World Cup The FINA Diving World Cup is an international biennial diving competition that was first contested in The Woodlands, Texas in 1979. The 2012 edition served as Diving's test event for the 2012 Olympics, as well as the final qualifying event for ...

that will take place in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

in 2014.

References

External links