Cynthia "Cindy" Ann Potter (born August 27, 1950) is an American former

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

diver and diving

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and t ...

. She was a member of three Olympic diving teams, winning a bronze medal in the 3 m springboard in 1976.

Career

Diving

An 11-time All-American, Potter won a record 28 national diving championships. She was the U.S. outdoor champion in the 1-meter springboard from 1968 through 1977. Potter was the 3-meter springboard champion in 1971 and 1972 and from 1975 through 1977; and took first in the platform competition in 1970 and 1971. Indoors, she won 1-meter springboard titles from 1969 through 1973 and in 1976 and 1977, the 3-meter in 1969, 1970, and 1973. Additionally, Potter was chosen as World Diver of the year in springboard competition in 1970, 1971 and 1972. Potter was a member of the 1968, 1972 and 1976 U.S. Olympic diving teams. She was selected to the 1980 U.S. Olympic diving team, but due to the U.S. boycott of the games that year, Potter was unable to compete. She was one of 461 athletes to receive a

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...

instead. In 1972, she placed seventh on the 3-meter springboard and 21st in the 10-meter platform partially due to a foot injury, and in 1976 Potter claimed a bronze medal in the 3-meter springboard. In other international competition, Potter won a gold in the 3-meter springboard and a silver in the 10-meter platform at the 1970 World University Games, a bronze in the 3-meter springboard at the 1975

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

, and a silver in the 3-meter springboard at the 1978 World Championships. In 1987, Potter was inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

Television

In the late 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, she served as color commentator for televised U.S. and international diving competitions, primarily for

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

. Potter continues to provide color commentary for its Olympic diving coverage and served as an analyst for its coverage of

diving at the 2008 Summer Olympics Diving competitions at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics were held from August 10 to August 23, at the Beijing National Aquatics Centre. Competition format The following events were contested by both men and women in Beijing: *3m Springboard S ...

and

diving at the 2012 Summer Olympics The diving competitions at the 2012 Olympic Games in London took place from 29 July to 11 August at the Aquatics Centre within the Olympic Park.2016 Rio and

2020 Tokyo The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

Olympics.

Personal life

Potter graduated from

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 ...

in 1973 with a degree in secondary education, and also received a graduate degree from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

in teaching and teacher education. Since retiring from diving, she served as diving coach at

The Westminster Schools The Westminster Schools is a Kindergarten –12 private school in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, founded in 1951. History Westminster originated in 1951 as a reorganization of Atlanta's North Avenue Presbyterian School (NAPS), a girls' school a ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

until 2020, and has served as a diving coach at

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

, and the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Cynthia 1950 births College diving coaches in the United States Divers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Divers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Divers at the 1976 Summer Olympics American female divers Indiana Hoosiers women's divers Living people Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in diving Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Sportspeople from Atlanta Sportspeople from Houston Southern Methodist University faculty University of Arizona alumni University of Arizona faculty Divers at the 1975 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in diving Pan American Games medalists in diving Universiade medalists in diving Congressional Gold Medal recipients Universiade gold medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1970 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games American women academics

Career

Diving

Television

Personal life

See also

References