July 19, 1996
ANNIE GETS HER GUNS A-BLAZIN'//DIVER PLANNING AN ALL-0UT ASSAULT ON CHINESE COMPETITORS
ATLANTA '96
By CHRIS STEVENSON
At The Games
ATLANTA -- Annie Pelletier will know quickly if she's going to be in over her head in the Olympic three-metre springboard diving competition.
The 22-year-old from Montreal plans to launch a full-out assault on the favored Chinese divers by going with her toughest dive - a forward 312 pike - with her first plunge into the Olympic pool.
"I need a big dive," she said yesterday in her last sitdown with reporters before going into seclusion to prepare for the competition July 30 and 31.
"That dive has a difficulty of 3.1 and there are only three girls who can do it. I've also got an inward 312 pike that only four or five girls can do."
Her preemptive strike could be an all-or-nothing gamble. If she hits it, she'll get a huge confidence boost and perhaps rattle her Chinese rivals. A miss puts her competition in the driver's seat.
Pelletier's plan is completely within her character. She's drives a Corvette and likes living life big.
It's also the only way she'll be able to keep from sinking completely out of sight against the heavily-favored Chinese duo of Fu Ming Xia and Tan Shuping, who finished 1-2 at last year's world cup.
"The Chinese are very consistent and they do a big list," Pelletier said. "If I do a small list, they could miss one or two dives and still be ahead of me."
Pelletier's Walkman will also be getting a good workout in the minutes leading up to her dives. She likes to prowl the deck listening to tunes to get her in the mood for her next dive.
"When I need control, it's Celine Dion," she said. "When it's a power dive, it's songs with rhythm like Love Can Move Mountains."
Olympic officials are putting a bit of a crimp in Pelletier's style, however, by clearing the pool deck during competitions. Pelletier likes to be right in there, getting a feel for the pace and flow of the competition and getting a good look at what her opponents are doing.
Pelletier comes into the Olympics with a shot at a bronze medal. She's been diving well, winning Dive Canada and setting a personal best mark of 561.00 in May. She was second in the Olympic Trials to Eryn Bulmer of Edmonton.
Her manner yesterday was confident as she met reporters in the Canadian Olympic Association's office at the main press centre, but she wasn't making any predictions.
"I don't think I'm any better than anybody else before the Games are over," the 1995 Pan-Am Games champ said. "You can't think about the results before the competition."
Things didn't get off to a great start for her this week.
She arrived Monday when the crush at the accredition centre was at its most frustrating.
"I was number 501 and they were serving number 002," said Pelletier. "But then we were talking to these guys and I think they were flirting. They gave us their tickets and we moved up to 275."
She flips her blonde hair and flashes that smile that's got more candlepower than an airplane's landing lights.
Who could resist that smile?
At least one baggage handler.
Pelletier went without her luggage for a day and a half. She had a spare bathing suit for practice in another bag and borrowed a pair of shorts.
`Never bitch, never panic'
"It could have been a big problem," she said, looking out the windows where hundreds of multicolored balloons were floating skyward during a rehearsal of tonight's opening ceremonies.
"But now everything is all right. You have to have the right attitude. My coach says never panic, never bitch. Those are negative things. You have to think positive. It's not good to get frustrated right at the beginning of the Games. I'm very excited about seeing Celine Dion and waving to the people. I hope my parents see me on TV."
You'll know when the camera hits her.
Her face will light up your screen.
