Brittany Ann Viola (born April 19, 1987 in

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 ...

) is an American platform diver formerly for the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

. In 2008 and 2011, she won the NCAA championship in diving's ten-meter platform. She was named to the United States diving team for the 2009 World Aquatics Championships

2011 World Aquatics Championships The 14th FINA World Championships () were held on 16–31 July 2011 in Shanghai, China at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. The 2011 World Championships featured five aquatics disciplines: swimming, water polo, diving, open water, and synch ...

held in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and

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 flowin ...

, respectively. Viola was named Captain of the U.S. Diving Team for the 2009 event. Viola's Olympic dreams began when she watched the Magnificent Seven U.S. Gymnastics Team win gold in Atlanta in 1996. She came close to making the 2004 U.S. Olympic Diving Team, finishing second on the 10-meter platform at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials while still in high school. Prior to attending the University of Miami, Viola attended and graduated in 2005 from

Lake Highland Preparatory School Lake Highland Preparatory School is a private, coeducational school in Orlando, Florida. It was founded as an all-white school in 1970 by the board of a whites-only, Christians-only junior college. This gave white parents a private alternative ...

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, Florida. While in high school she trained with what is now YCF Diving at the YMCA Aquatic Center in Orlando, FL. In 2008 Viola was named an alternate for the U.S. Olympic Diving Team after finishing fourth in the trials. Among her greatest accomplishments in competitive diving Viola placed second in the U.S. Grand Prix in Fort Lauderdale, FL, in 2009. In June 2012, Viola easily took first place in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and sealed her place on the U.S. Olympic team. She was ahead of the second place member, Katie Bell, by nearly 60 points. Viola was the Student Athlete Advisor Committee (SAAC) President first for the

from 2008 to 2011, and then the SAAC Chairman for the ACC for the 2008/2009 academic year. She is the daughter of former Minnesota Twins pitcher,

Frank Viola Frank John Viola Jr. (born April 19, 1960) is an American former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Minnesota Twins (1982–1989), New York Mets (1989–1991), Boston Red Sox (1992–1994), Cincinnati Reds (1995), and To ...

. Originally trained in gymnastics, she retired at the age of 13 to concentrate on diving because she did not want to move away from home to train.

Championships

At the 2011 US National Championships in August, Viola captured the senior women platform championship at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

Spieker Aquatics Center The Spieker Aquatics Center is a 2,500-capacity stadium in Los Angeles, California used by UCLA water polo, swimming, and diving teams. The $14-million center was built in 2009 and is named for Tod and Catherine Spieker. Tod was a student-athl ...

.Beth Harris
Ipsen, Viola wins diving titles at US nationals
''Associated Press'', August 13, 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Viola, Brittany 1987 births Living people Miami Hurricanes athletes Lake Highland Preparatory School alumni Divers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic divers for the United States American female divers 21st-century American women