Diver Accuses Ex-Coach Runner-Up Astonishes Interviewers By Claiming Harassment

The U.S. Olympic diving trials ended in Indianapolis Sunday with one of the two qualifiers in the 10-meter platform event accusing the Olympic coach of harassment, assault and “sheer hell.”

Less than an hour after becoming the final diver selected for the Atlanta Games, David Pichler embraced his teammates under a giant American flag in a picture of harmony then turned the trials upside down.

Pichler, who qualified with Patrick Jeffrey, went public with a situation that has been brewing since September, when he left Ron O’Brien’s rigorous training program in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“Since that time, I have been harassed, I have been assaulted, I have been pushed, my family has been harassed and I’ve gone through constant problems from Ron O’Brien and his family,” Pichler said.

“It’s been sheer hell on a regular basis. It’s just something that I wish no athlete would ever have to go through.”

Pichler’s outpouring was prompted by a reporter’s question about his feelings in making the team. As the story unfolded, Jeffrey sat silently next to Pichler with an amazed look on his face.

O’Brien would not comment on the circumstances of Pichler leaving his program. His son Tim, who is assistant coach of his father’s Fort Lauderdale team, would say only that Pichler was dismissed because of “disruptive type of behavior.”

The men’s 10-meter final concluded with Jeffrey making the team eight years after finishing 12th in platform at the Seoul Olympics. He won the trials with 1,147.71 points. Pichler was second with 1,140.48, holding off 16-year-old Troy Dumais of Ventura, Calif. The top two qualify for the Atlanta Games.

Pichler filed a formal complaint against O’Brien with U.S. Diving. Steve McFarland, president of the governing body, investigated the allegations and a confidential report was presented to U.S. Diving’s 21-member board of directors about a week ago.

“As a result, the board has voted to take no action against coach Ron O’Brien,” U.S. Diving spokesman David Shatkowski said.

Ron O’Brien will coach his eighth Olympic team at next month’s games, where Pichler will try to win the first international platform title of his 12-year career.

Show jumping team set

Leslie Burr Howard, a 1984 Olympic gold medalist made the U.S. equestrian team at Gladstone, N.J.

Howard of Westport, Conn., joined two other past Olympians, Michael Matz and Anne Kursinski. Kursinski of Flemington, N.J., won a team silver medal in 1988. Also on the show jumping team is Peter Leone of Greenwich, Conn.

In dressage, Steffen Peters of Escondido, Calif., and Robert Dover of Lebanon, N.J., claimed the final two spots after the freestyle test.

Brazil tops on beach

Get ready for the samba at Atlanta Beach. The women’s field for beach volleyball’s Olympic debut will have a distinctive Brazilian flavor.

The world’s top-ranked duo of Jackie Silva and Sandra Pires won the gold medal at the $290,000 World Beach Invitational in Hermosa Beach, Calif., beating fellow Brazilians Adriana Samuel and Monica Rodrigues 12-9, 12-8 in the final.

In a men’s field lacking the favorites, the fourth-seeded Norwegian team of 6-foot-7 Jan Kvalheim and 6-foot-6 Bjorn Maaseide won the gold medal by beating the second-seeded team of Brazil’s Franco Neto and Roberto Lopes 12-8, 12-5.

Ballparks an essential

As city officials and top business leaders start on the long road to trying to lure the summer Olympics to New York in 2008, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said that new homes for the Yankees and the Mets should be considered as part of any plan to build stadiums and arenas to house the Games.

Conceding that New York City’s biggest weakness as a host is its lack of enough large sports venues, Giuliani said a committee that met formally for the first time last week will look at the two issues - the Olympics and new stadiums for the city’s baseball teams.