Wearing the American flag on her swimsuit, Ariel Rittenhouse has led a life most people only dream about — traveling the world and performing alongside some of the world’s greatest athletes.
A former USA Diving Team member and 2012 Olympic hopeful, Rittenhouse began her journey at age 3, when she decided that she wanted to dive
Born Dec. 9, 1990, the Santa Cruz native is the youngest of five children. She comes from a family in which competing is a way of life.
Her mother, Sharon Finneran Rittenhouse, formerly from Boulder Creek, won a silver medal in swimming at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Her uncle, Mike Finneran, was a diver in the 1972 Munich Olympics. And her grandmother, Carolyn Finneran, was team manager for the 1976 women’s Olympic Swim Team in Montreal.
Ariel Rittenhouse learned to swim when she was 2 and took diving lessons at age 7, joining the Santa Clara Dive team when she was 8.
“I had fun diving and was busy all the time,” Rittenhouse said. “Most of my friends were, like, in gymnastics, dancing or diving.”
She became serious about her career a few years later, when she was invited to join the Trojan Dive Club at University of Southern California. Her coach, Hongping Li, was a former Olympian diver. But the move meant being uprooted from her seventh-grade class and moving to Los Angeles with her mother.
“It was hard leaving my family and friends, especially my dad, Bob Rittenhouse Jr.,” she said.
In 2003, at age 12, Rittenhouse received a silver metal in synchronized diving at her first international competition — the Junior Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. Years earlier, her mother had competed in the Pan Am Games as a swimmer.
“Sharing this moment with my mom was one of the highlights of my diving career,” Rittenhouse said. “Her advice is very important to me. She’s been through this before and is my main supporter.”
In 2006, the 14-year-old diver and her mother packed up once again and headed to the National Diving Training Center in Indianapolis, Ind. From that time on, diving was Rittenhouse’s life. She enrolled in an online school and began a rigorous training schedule. She also teamed up with another young diver, Kelci Bryant.
“It was our moms’ idea for us to dive synchro,” Rittenhouse said. “We began training for the 3-meter synchronized diving event.”
In 2008, Rittenhouse and Bryant took third place at the FINA Diving World Cup, followed by another bronze finish, before getting a shot at the Olympic team trials.
“That moment when I found out we made the Olympic team was overwhelming,” Rittenhouse said. “I was only 17 and the youngest springboard diver in the Olympics.”
Despite their efforts, Rittenhouse and Bryant placed fourth at Beijing, just shy of a winning a medal.
“Of course I was disappointed, but I was happy with the way I dove and couldn’t ask for anything more,” Rittenhouse said.
After Beijing, the partners went their separate ways. In 2009, Rittenhouse received a scholarship to dive for the University of Southern California.
“I had a hard time. After growing up in laidback Santa Cruz, I didn’t like the Los Angeles atmosphere,” she said. “I realized that I needed a change and quit USC in my sophomore year.”
Rittenhouse met with two-time Olympian coach Pat Jeffery at Florida State University in Tallahassee and knew that it would be a perfect fit. After taking an eight-month leave from diving, she started up again in September, specializing in the 3-meter springboard. Once again, Rittenhouse, a junior at FSU, has shown her skills on the boards and won several first-place awards. Next will be the NCAA Championships in March followed by the Olympic trials in June. Her goal is to win a spot at the 2012 Olympics, to be held in London this August.
“All along, I’ve believed that Ariel has the potential to be the best female diver in the United States,” said her mother, Sharon Finneran Rittenhouse. “Even if she doesn’t place, it’s been worth every moment.
Ariel Rittenhouse has lofty goals, too.
“I plan to try my best. I want a medal, but the main thing is to give it my all.”
Sandi Olson of Scotts Valley is a writer, speaker and teacher. She writes about interesting people in Scotts Valley and the San Lorenzo Valley. Email her at sa********@co*****.net.
