David Neville mixes sports to win medals
BEIJING -- David Neville is a smart guy. He knows it's safer to dive if there is water around.
The 400-meter runner from the University of Indiana dove for the first time in a race at the finish of the 1,600-meter relay at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. It was raining.
He did it again at the finish of the Olympic 400 final at the Bird's Nest Thursday night. It had rained very hard an hour earlier.
"When you can slide, it does make the fall a lot better,'' Neville said with a big grin.
His belly-flops might not have done too well in the diving competition at the Water Cube, but they got what he wanted: a bronze medal here and a silver in Rio -- each by 0.04 of a second.
"Sometimes we have to sacrifice our body and mind and spirit for what we really want,'' Neville said. "In a split-second, I said I have to dive in order to get a medal.''
Neville, a snare drummer in the IU marching band for two years, did a percussive number on his stomach.
"You get through the pain,'' he said, although getting up for the lap of honor with U.S. teammates LaShawn Merritt and Jeremy Wariner wasn't easy. (Merritt won the race, with Wariner second.)
Nothing so dramatic should be necessary in Saturday's 1,600-meter relay final. First of all, Neville won't be the anchor. And the U.S. team should be so far ahead at the finish that Neville can get an early start on beating the drums in triumph.
-- Philip Hersh
Photo: David Neville gives his all to finish with the bronze medal in the men's 400-meter final. Credit: Gero Breloer / EPA
"University of Indiana"? What the heck is that?
Or did you mean Indiana University? You did get it right later in the article as "IU".
Posted by: newtex | August 21, 2008 at 01:46 PM
Come on LA Times. Show the University and our new Olympic medal winner a little respect and get the name of the college right.
Posted by: Josh | August 21, 2008 at 05:45 PM
As a welshmen, british for most of you i assume, i don't visit these sites often however i had to comment on David Neville's dive, I usually support anyone who isn't american in any event, i won't go into why but wil always cheer on this hro from now on, that is what the olympics is about, a true legend and i hope he is receiving the acclaim he deserves in your country as sadly he has not been mentioned over here. all the best to you all.
Posted by: leon vincent | August 22, 2008 at 04:10 AM
man this guy went to the high school i go to now!
this is so awesome!
Posted by: jackie | August 22, 2008 at 07:59 PM
With quite a few strides left you could see Jeremy Whiner give up and back off while the other US runner David Neville sacrificed his body and dove for a Bronze!!!! I wish Jeremy would have got 4th. Man if he is a Texan I feel sorry for the second biggest state in the US. I guess it fits because thats what he got second. He should get last for attitude - what a loser!!!! Props to David - true Olympic Spirit outshines a Whiner!
Posted by: Todd Gowen | August 22, 2008 at 09:09 PM