David Pichler (diver)
David John Pichler (born September 3, 1968) is an American diver who competed for Ohio State University and for the United States at the Olympics. He took part in the 1996 Atlanta Games and the 2000 Sydney Games, where he was team captain.
Early life and diving start
- Born in Butler, Pennsylvania. He swam at the Butler YMCA as a kid.
- In high school, he did well in diving: runner-up at the 1985 WPIAL diving championship, third in the Pennsylvania State Meet, and in 1986 he won the state championship with a state-record 459.75 points.
- From his freshman year, he trained with Julian Krug at Pitt Aquatics Club.
College and coaching
- He attended Ohio State University, coaching by Vince Panzano, and won the 1991 NCAA national title.
- He trained with Panzano again before the 1996 Olympics. He also trained at times with Ron O’Brien in Florida and Randy Ableman in Miami.
Olympic and international career
- In the 1992 Olympic Trials, he finished seventh.
- He competed at the 1994 World Championships in Rome.
- In the 1996 Olympic Trials, he finished second in the 10-meter platform.
- At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, he finished sixth in platform diving.
- At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, he finished ninth in platform, seventh in synchronized platform, and fourth in synchronized springboard.
- He served as team captain in 2000. In May 2000, he and Mark Ruiz won the synchronized platform at the FINA-USA Diving Grand Prix (301.26 points).
Personal
- In 1996, Pichler publicly came out as gay.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 23:21 (CET).