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A Bates College diver took a knock on her head and hands, then finished 10th in Division III.

By GLENN JORDAN, Staff Writer March 25, 2009

Say this about Kelsey Lamdin's college diving career:

She went out with a bang.

A senior at Bates, Lamdin hit her hands and head on the board Friday while warming up for the NCAA Division III diving championships at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

After a lot of blood and a quick trip to a nearby emergency room, Lamdin returned with 15 staples in her scalp, a black bathing cap holding everything together, and 12 minutes to prepare for the final dives of her career.

Somehow she managed to place 10th, earn her eighth All-America honor and become the most decorated diver in Bates history.

"I couldn't imagine a more amazing sequence of events," said Bates Coach Peter Casares. "It was a phenomenal display of courage."

Remember when Greg Louganis bonked the board at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and came back to win gold? Same dive as Lamdin, only with one more rotation.

Lamdin was attempting a reverse one-and-a-half somersault.

Louganis was doing a reverse two-and-a-half.

"It was the same thing that went wrong," said Lamdin, who was back in class Tuesday on the Lewiston campus. "I just sat back a little too far."

Only once before in her eight years of diving had she struck her head on the board. Trained in gymnastics, Lamdin switched to diving as a Brunswick High freshman, finished eighth in Class A her first year, and had her first board encounter that summer.

"I barely clipped it," she said. "There was no blood."

The rest of her high school career included a runner-up finish and two state titles.

At Bates, she reached the 1-meter and 3-meter national championships all four years. The top eight divers advance from the preliminaries to the night finals, and she did so every year, finishing sixth as a freshman at 3 meters, fifth as a sophomore at 1, seventh as a junior at 3 and sixth last week at 3.

"Kelsey is always full of surprises, but when it's time to compete, she's ready to go," said Bates diving coach Mike Bartley.

"That's something I've always marveled about her. I've never seen her wash out."

'IMMEDIATELY ANGRY'

Bartley, 64, competed in the 1964 Olympic trials. He has coached diving for 41 years, the past 18 at Bates. Never has he had a diver experience what he called a "serious head strike."

Until Friday.

At first, both Bartley and Lamdin thought only her hands had hit the board.

"I was immediately angry," Lamdin said.

"I couldn't believe I hit the board. It was my hands that hurt the most, my forearms and hands, because the board is painted with sand and it just rips you apart. My head didn't hurt at all."

Not until she prepared to climb out of the pool did she notice the blood dripping off her head. A University of Minnesota trainer examined her for a possible concussion or neck injury and sent her to a hospital two blocks away.

The competition was scheduled to begin in an hour and 20 minutes.

"I thought they'd make me scratch," Lamdin said. "You work four years. It was my last meet. I was (peeved)."

ONE FAST VISIT

In a busy emergency room, Bartley explained the situation to a nurse, who quickly found a doctor, who examined Lamdin's neck and scalp, which turned out to have two lacerations. Anesthesia would have remained in her system through the diving, so she declined any painkillers while the doctor stapled her up.

Lamdin changed into her competition suit, accepted the Bates swim cap from Casares, who had brought it from the hotel, and returned to the pool.

"Fastest hospital visit I've ever had," she said. "I got out of there in under an hour."

NCAA officials, who had gotten to know her over the years, allowed Lamdin to skip a pre-meet briefing in order to go off the board a few times. She didn't attempt her reverse one-and-a-half, scheduled to come up fifth...