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Spotlight: Erica Sorgi, Diving
Posted: Friday July 16, 1999 11:51 AM
Born: July 2, 1982 Hometown: Mission Viejo, Calif. Upcoming Event: Pan Am Games, July 20-August 1, Winnipeg, Manitoba Worth Watching Because: Sorgi may be America's best hope to win a diving medal at the 2000 Sydney Games. At the U.S. Spring National Diving Championships in April, the 17-year-old Capistrano Valley High junior took both the 10-meter platform and the three-meter springboard titles, bringing the number of national championships she's won to five. "[Erica] blew me away the first time I saw her," said Sorgi's coach, former Chinese champion Hong Ping Lee. "With her competitiveness, strength, flexibility and body awareness, I knew she could be one of the most talented divers I could ever dream to coach." Sorgi is known for her diligence, often putting in four-hour workouts six days a week, but she is praised most for remaining a normal, healthy teenager during a rapid ascent in her sport. In 1998, Sorgi's parents, Ed and Anne, decided their daughter should take a year off from high school to focus on national and international events -- a year during which she was home-schooled. Though Sorgi missed her social life, she was happy to have more time with her family -- particularlty her brother, Adam, who pitched in the 1997 Little League World Series team for South Mission Viejo, and her youngest sister, Tori, who was born with Down's Syndrome. As a child, Sorgi's sport was gymnastics. But one day she was poolside while Adam took a lesson. She saw divers going off platforms and thought it looked fun, so her mother signed her up for classes. Within a year, Sorgi was using the flipping and twisting skills she had learned in gymnastics in her dives. In 1997, at age 14, Sorgi won the Junior World Championship on platform. That same year she won the nationals on springboard, making her the youngest diver to win a U.S. Senior National title in 23 years. At the 1999 FINA Diving Grand Prix in May, Sorgi took the bronze medal while defending champion Cai Yuyan of China edged teammate Li Na for the gold. The meet was an early preview of next year's Olympics, where China and Russia will be the teams to beat. With her poise and finely-tuned skills, Sorgi hopes to help the U.S. do just that. Greatest Success: 1999 U.S. Spring National Diving Championships three-meter and platform champion Quote/Unquote: "My sister, Tori, is one of my heroes because she always has a positive outlook on life." Cool Fact: Sorgi appeared briefly in the film Jerry Maguire. She played herself -- a future Olympian. Come back soon for a new women's sports Spotlight.
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