47°
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
7 Day Forecast

Latest Weather Blog

Follow our weather team on social media

Former LSU diver competing to qualify for 2020 Olympics

4 years 1 month 1 week ago Sunday, February 16 2020 Feb 16, 2020 February 16, 2020 5:57 PM February 16, 2020 in Sports
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - A former LSU diver is getting ready to add a new chapter to her already storied diving career.

 Lizzie Cui tested the waters in the 2016 Olympics, and now she's diving back in, this time hoping to make a splash.

"I have a lot more experience under my belt. This is the games that I was really hoping to qualify for." Lizzie continued, "So now being at that stage it's a little surreal, because I didn't think I would have an Olympics under my belt already."

But with her new depth of knowledge and experience, also comes higher expectations.

 "A little more pressure because I've already competed at one so technically I should do better but I have a lot of gratitude and I'm just going to go out there and have fun," Lizzie says. 

Her coach Doug Shaffer says her growth and maturity at LSU has been phenomenal.

Coach Shaffer is confident that Lizzie has what it takes to dive head-first into an Olympic pool packed with world class athletes.

Lizzie has been diving since she was nine, and now 13 years later, she says it's the younger generation who she's hoping to motivate. She wants to inspire them to one day take a leap of faith, of their own.

"Nothing is impossible, and to just have fun every step of the way. Don't take things too seriously because one day you'll be proud of yourself for sticking to it," Lizzie tells young swimmers. 

In the end, once it's all said and done, Lizzie will take home the memories, the medals, and that tattoo she got the first time around, as a teenager.

She said the tattoo goes along wiht her dream to get the rings. 
 
"I see all the Olympians on T.V with the rings and you can't get them unless you compete. So when I had that opportunity I was like I'm going to get them," Lizzie said. 

Lizzie may have graduated from LSU, but she's not trading in her purple and gold anytime soon.

Her coach says she'll spend the next two years with the team, as a graduate assistant.

More News

Desktop News

Click to open Continuous News in a sidebar that updates in real-time.
Radar
7 Days