Sometimes it takes a career-threatening injury to show someone just how much they love to compete.
This was the case for Mitch Richeson, the Ohio State junior diver whose career was almost ruined by a back injury during his junior year of high school. Richeson missed several important events that summer and was not sure if he would ever dive again.
“I went to about 13 doctors and no one could figure out what was wrong with me,” Richeson said. “I couldn’t even sleep most nights, so I was definitely concerned about never diving again.”
Richeson, who lived just outside Indianapolis, finally received the help he needed from a trainer for the Indiana Pacers, who gave him some stretching exercises to work on while manipulating his spine to relieve pressure.
Eventually Richeson felt well enough to dive again, and his career has taken off since the treatment.
“That injury showed me how much I love diving, and it motivated me to push harder and prove to myself how good I can be,” Richeson said.
Before he became an Olympic hopeful, Richeson compiled an impressive list of accomplishments at OSU. He won the 2004 Big Ten Championship in the 3-meter dive, finished 19th at the same event at the 2004 NCAA Championships, and placed 9th in the 1-meter dive.
Those performances earned him All-American honors, while his hard work in the classroom earned him a spot on the Academic All-Big Ten Team.
“I take pride in being a well-rounded student-athlete,” Richeson said. “I try to do the best I can at both and see what happens.”
Now Richeson is on the verge of qualifying for the Olympic Games this summer in Athens, Greece.
At his last meet, the Speedo American Cup in Minneapolis, Minn. held in April, Richeson finished fifth in the 3-meter dive to earn a spot in the U.S. Olympic team trials. He also placed first in a qualifying round earlier that week.
The Speedo American Cup is held to the same standards and difficulty requirements as the Olympic trials, which gives Richeson confidence that he can compete at the highest level despite the small number of spots available on the team.
“It’s going to be tough because the system they’re using to make the team only gives the winner of the trials a guaranteed spot, while second place has a pretty good shot,” Richeson said. “But I’ve been diving really well lately, and if I can keep diving consistently at this level, I’ll make it.”
Although this is the biggest meet of his career, Richeson will not change his training schedule, which includes training five days per week for four hours per day.
“The schedule has worked for me so far, and there’s never any messing around in there,” Richeson said. “One of the reasons I came to Ohio State was I thought it would be a place where I could push myself, and I think the work is starting to pay off.”
Richeson will next compete at the U.S. Olympic team trials June 7-13 in St. Peters, Mo.
