PROVO, Utah -- Brandon Watson of the BYU dive team has been chosen as one of 12 representatives selected to attend the World University Games in Shenzhen, China this August.
“I’m excited and am truly blessed to get to compete internationally again and I hope to represent my country well,” Watson said. “To prepare for this, I've been training two to three times a day, doing work both on and off the boards.”
Watson will be joining divers from across the country to create the U.S. team that will compete against divers from around the world. He will be competing in both the 1 and 3-meter springboard events. The Summer World University Games will take place from August 11-23.
“This will be a great opportunity for him to represent the U.S., “ BYU head diving coach, Keith Russell said. “He will be diving at a very high level of competition against many Olympians. When going from one level to another like that, it’s hard and effort on a daily basis is needed. But, Brandon enjoys this sort of thing because he is a great competitor.”
Other athletes chosen to represent the U.S. include divers from Ohio State University, University of Minnesota, Purdue University, Indiana University, Miami University, University of Missouri, University of Alabama and Florida State. Coaches for the team will be Wenbo Chen from the University of Minnesota, Yahya Radman from Florida State and Todd Waikel from Indiana University.
“This will be a team effort and I expect that he will contribute greatly,” Russell said. “Hopefully he can make finals, score some big points and bring home a trophy.”