Brittany Viola

Elite platform diver Brittany Viola first dreamed of going to the Olympics when she was eight years old, as she watched the Magnificent Seven gymnastics team, which included accomplished gymnasts Shannon Miller and Kerri Strug, take the team gold in the 1996 Olympics. Sports Speaker Brittany began as a gymnast herself before switching to solely to diving at the age of thirteen. The daughter of former Mets baseball player Frank Viola attended the University of Miami and won the NCAA championship for the ten-meter platform in 2008 and 2011. In 2007, she was chosen as the ACC Freshman of the Year. Brittany also was picked to the United States diving team for 2009 and 2011 World Aquatics Championships; for the 2009 Championships she served as captain of the U.S. diving team.

Brittany’s road has not been without difficulties, yet she has managed to work through them to get to where she is today. She is a recovered bulimic; after spending time in a treatment facility before starting college, Brittany’s struggles continued throughout her sophomore year. Brittany credits her faith as a devoted Christian to bringing her into recovery. Just when things were looking better, she was forced to miss a season of diving because of an ankle ligament injury requiring two surgeries in 2010. Through the obstacles, however, Brittany has come out more content and happy as a diver. After being named an alternate in both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, Brittany was a member of the 2012 Olympic diving team. Also on this team was fellow diver Katie Bell, whom Brittany beat by almost sixty points at the trials. Nowadays Brittany spends time working part-time as a field staff for Athletes in Action at her alma mater, a collegiate Christian organization devoted to encouraging and meeting the needs of student athletes across a variety of campuses.