LONDON (BP) -- A 12-year-old David Boudia stood on the 10-meter diving platform for the first time, terrified to plunge into the water below.

"My faith is the most important thing in my life, and this is what's brought me through this 2012 Games."

That's the equivalent of a three-story building. The fear was understandable.

"It took me the longest time. It took bribes from my mother," Boudia said. "It took so long for me to get over that fear, but it had to be done if I wanted to accomplish dreams."

Boudia doesn't have to dream anymore.

The 23-year-old U.S. diver unexpectedly won Olympic gold in the men's 10-meter platform event Saturday (Aug. 11). His 568.65 points edged China's Qui Bo (566.85 points) and Great Britain's Thomas Daley (556.95 points) to give the United States its first gold medal in men's diving since Greg Louganis in 1988.

Baptist Press previously featured a story on Boudia and his Christian walk. (Read it at http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=38360.)

"Just looking back on this journey, it's amazing to think where I was in 2008 to where I am now," Boudia told NBC's Al Michaels in a Sunday (Aug. 12) interview. "My faith is the most important thing in my life, and this is what's brought me through this 2012 Games."

The medal was Boudia's second of the Olympics, after he and Nick McCrory won bronze in the men's 10-meter synchronized diving event.

"The craziest thing is, I didn't watch the competition at all, so I had no idea where I was placed," Boudia told Michaels. "Going into my last dive, I had no idea it was as close as it was with the top three. I was just doing what I normally do in practice." Read More