Holly Springs native Andrew Capobianco will be in international waters once again for another chance at an Olympic gold medal this month.
Capobianco, the Holly Springs High School and Indiana University alum, qualified for his second Olympic Games at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials on June 23. In the 3-meter springboard final, Paris-bound Capobianco finished in first place with a score of 971.80, and he qualified alongside his former college teammate Carson Tyler, who finished second in the event.
“I don’t really have words to describe it,” Capobianco said after qualifying for Team USA. “I was just trying to be in the moment and not try to get ahead of myself too much. I think I got a little bit ahead of myself on that back, which I’m kind of pissed about, but other than that, I think that was a great list.”
With a strong showing in the men’s 3-meter semifinal round, Capobianco created a 77.15-point cushion between himself and the third place spot before the final round. His second-to-last dive in the semifinals, a forward 2 ½ somersault three twist pike, earned him 91.65 points which was the most for any of his dives in the round.
Despite a sub-par back 3 ½ somersault tuck in the finals that only earned him 32.40 points, Capobianco maintained his lead, receiving top scores of 93.60 and 93.10 for his final two dives, respectively.
“Usually, I’m pretty good at being the comeback kid coming from behind,” Capobianco said “So, I’m not really used to having that lead and having to try to keep it. It’s definitely hard to dive like that, where you’re almost trying to dive not to miss instead of diving to hit.”
After each of Capobianco’s dives, the NBC broadcast switched to shots of his dad, Michael, cheering him on and expressing loud support from the stands. Capobianco said he was really excited to have his family watch him in person this year which they weren’t allowed to do for the 2020 diving trials. While Capobianco was diving in Indianapolis, his family had to watch from Orlando.
“Being able to watch in person and have my family up in the stands is huge for me,” Capobianco said.
Said Capobianco, “(Dad) been the constant in my diving career I would say the whole entire time. He was the one that would wake up with me at 5 a.m. and drive me an hour to the pool for my morning practices and back and forth all over the country for my meets. (I’m) just very thankful for him and very thankful for my mom as well.”
For Capobianco, this year’s Olympic Games should bring less uncertainty than there was for the 2020 Tokyo Games in 2021.
In the last Games, Capobianco dealt with a back injury that made it hard to train, and he told Lisa Costantini in June that the injury also dampened his confidence prior to competition.
However, that adversity didn’t stop him from winning a silver medal in the 3-meter springboard synchronized event alongside two-time Olympian Michael Hixon.
Capobianco told Costantini that his last Olympic accomplishment taught him that he’s “a lot stronger and mentally tougher than (he) thought (he) was.”
From looking at his training routine, those attributes aren’t surprising, and from divining into his past accomplishments, there’s much to wonder about what he can do when fully healthy.
According to Capobianco’s Team USA biography, he trains four hours a day six days a week. His body will also give an idea of his mental outlook as one of his tattoos reads “fortune favors the bold” in Latin.
“That one came about before the last trials,” Capobianco said. “I had decided to change one of my dives to a harder one. It was just my thought like, ‘If I’m going to do it, I’m going to be bold…and try to show them I’m a medal contender going into Tokyo.”
In college, Capobianco was a three-time Big Ten Diver of the Year (2019, 2021-22) and a two-time NCAA 3-meter diving champion (2019 and 2021). He also won five individual Big Ten Championships and earned a total of 11 Big Ten medals in four active seasons at Indiana.
In his time with USA Diving, Capobianco has piled on three senior national championships (two individual 3-meter titles and one synchronized 3-meter title) and five junior national championships, winning the 1-meter in 2014, the 3-meter in 2015 and three platform titles from 2014-2016. He also won back-to-back NCHSAA state titles for the 1-meter in 2016 and 2017.
Capobianco will start his quest to add an Olympic gold medal in the men’s 3-meter springboard preliminary on August 6.
