Loudy Wiggins

Loudy Wiggins
Personal information
Born (1979-07-07) 7 July 1979
Residence Melbourne, Australia
Height 4 ft 11 in (1.50 m)[1]
Weight 97 lb (44 kg; 6.9 st)[2]
Sport
Country  Australia
Event(s) 10m platform, 10m synchro
Medal record
Women’s Diving
Representing  Australia
Olympic Games
2000 Sydney 10m Platform Synchro
2004 Athens 10m Platform
World Championships
2003 Barcelona 10m Platform Synchro
2005 Montreal 10m Platform
2001 Fukuoka 10m Platform
Commonwealth Games
2002 Manchester 10m Platform
2006 Melbourne 10m Platform Synchro
2006 Melbourne 10m Platform[3]

Loudy Wiggins (née Tourky) (born 7 July 1979)[3] is an Australian diver.

She was born in Haifa, and is of Palestinian background. She was born to Butros and Afaf Tourky, who moved to Australia when Loudy was three. She has commented, "I will always have a bond with Palestine. My life is here, but it’s in the back of my mind."

Wiggins said she thinks of herself as 100 per cent Australian, although her family stays close to relatives in the Middle East. "All of my immediate family is in Australia, and everyone else back home is safe—we're in contact with them," she said. "We keep them updated with my results."

Wiggins was a gymnast at the Australian Institute of Sport, then began diving at age 12 at the suggestion of her physiotherapist.[4]

Wiggins finished 19th in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.[4] She won bronze in the 10m synchronised platform at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, becoming the first Australian to win an Olympic medal in diving since Dick Eve in 1924. She and Rebecca Gilmore were also the first Australian female Olympic diving medalists in the 2000 Games.

She won bronze at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka in 2001. She was named Female Australian Diver of the Year for 2001.

A year later, she won the Australian national championships and won gold in the 10m dive at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Wiggins won first place at an unprecedented three successive CAN-AM-MEX FINA Diving Grand Prix competitions in 2003. She finished second in the World Championships 10m synchronised diving in Barcelona in 2003. Also in 2003, she was named Sydney University Sports Woman of the Year and won the Magpie Wests Ashfield Award.

In 2004, after finishing second in the 10m dive at the World Cup, Wiggins won bronze by herself in the 10m at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, making her the first Australian diver to win more than one Olympic medal. She became the head diving coach at the Presbyterian Ladies' College Aquatic Centre in Melbourne in August 2007, but had to stop because of training commitments.

Wiggins trained for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing,[5] but a calf injury suffered during the Olympic selection trials on 13 April 2008 prevented her from competing in the Games.[6][7]

After getting married and having a baby, Wiggins began a comeback,[8] placing 14th at the Olympic Test Event in London.[9] Returning to Australia, she partnered with Rachel Bugg and, after very limited preparation, defeated Melissa Wu and Alexandra Croak at the Australian Nomination Trials.[9] Wiggins competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where, at 33, she was the oldest diver in the field.[8][10]

Wiggins has a degree in media and communications,[4] and is a personal trainer and a food and wellness coach. She is on the Australian Olympic Committee's Athletes' Commission and owns a personal training business in Melbourne called Loudy Wiggins Fitness. She has also launched an online Fitness program at www.mindbodyblitz.com.

Personal life

She was born in Haifa and is of Palestinian background. She was born to Butros and Afaf Tourky, who moved to Australia when Loudy was three. She has commented, "I will always have a bond with Palestine. My life is here, but it’s in the back of my mind." Wiggins is married to former Carlton AFL Australian rules football player Simon Wiggins. They have a daughter born in 2010 and a son born in 2013.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Loudy Wiggins (Tourky), London 2012 Olympics". Retrieved 2012-04-01.
  2. ↑ "Loudy Wiggins (Tourky), London 2012 Olympics". Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  3. 1 2 "Loudy Wiggins". Victorian Institute of Sport. Retrieved 2010-10-16.
  4. 1 2 3 "Loudy Wiggins - Saxton Speakers Bureau". Saxton.com.au. Retrieved 2010-10-16.
  5. ↑ "Loudy Wiggins aiming for fourth straight Olympics". Herald Sun. 10 April 2008. Retrieved 2010-10-16.
  6. ↑ "Wiggins' dream for four Olympics is over - Beijing2008 - Sport". Melbourne: theage.com.au. 14 April 2008. Retrieved 2010-10-16.
  7. ↑ http://www.sporttalk.com.au/loudy-wiggins-out-of-beijing-olympics/
  8. 1 2 "Loudy Wiggins: a diving veteran who's back for more". Xinhuanet.
  9. 1 2 "Loudy Wiggins (Tourky)". http://london2012.olympics.com.au/. Australian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 14 November 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  10. ↑ "Loudy Wiggins (Tourky), London 2012 Olympics". Retrieved 2012-07-31.
  11. ↑ "Mum Loudy Wiggins' new high delights Layla". Herald Sun. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-31.


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