Is there a more synonymous name with Australian Olympic diving than Loudy Tourkey? We at The Gurgler don’t think so. When we think diving we think Loudy Tourky.
First of all her name is now Loudy Wiggins, after marrying an AFL players, but for us we will always remember her as Tourky.
Sure there’s an actual gold medal winner that could have a greater claim to being the name and face of Diving. Like Matt Mitcham and Chantelle Newbury. Both of those athletes being involved in drug scandals after their Olympic career. We’ll think of the children and stick to Loudy Tourky as our Diving representative for our Forgotten Olympians.
And we know the difference between a Loudy and a Newberry, unlike Channel 10 news.
Not that drug scandals have stopped us from nominating a Crap Fantale Forgotten Olympian, only a gold medal would.
We nominate Loudy Wiggins (nee Tourky) as she made if to four Olympics. And she missed the chance at five straight in 2008 through injury. This would have given her 5 consecutive games, a record usually reserved for toffs riding horses for 3 days.
Attending Olympics is great, but what about the achievement?
After a solid start to her Olympic career in 1996 with 19th, she won her first medal (and Australia’s first since 1924) at the home games in Sydney in 2000 with a Bronze.
Loudy Tourky doubled her Bronze collection in 2004 with a third place in the same event won by the above mentioned Chantelle Newberry.
Having come out of retirement to compete in the 2012 London Games, she finished a highly creditable fourth in the Gurgler favourite 10m synchronised platform event. In a sport dominated by the military trained Chinese, Loudy Tourky’s record is tremendous, despite no gold.
Going to four Olympics from 1996 to 2012 also demands accolades given that any water sport’s pension plan kicks in at 20.
No gold is all good by us. It allows us to tips our hat, and give a triple half pike and a bonus double tuck to our new addition into the Forgotten Olympic Crap Fantale Hall of Fame.
