2024 Olympics: USA's Andrew Capobianco on a quest for individual diving medal

Andrew Capobianco stood side by side with Michael Hixon on the medal stand. They were wearing white masks at the pandemic-era, fan-free Tokyo Olympics and their dangling silver medals after the 3-meter synchronized diving competition with the top of the world’s talent pool.

This was 2021 for a then-21-year-old Wantagh native. Capobianco was an Olympic medalist — a forever accomplishment.

“I think at that point, I was just feeling so much gratitude and so much relief, honestly, that I was able to pull it out with my synchro partner and make all the people who helped me get there so proud,” Capobianco told Newsday  on Monday. “So that was awesome.”

Now he’s back for another Olympic-sized try at 24.

Capobianco participated in both synchronized and individual 3-meter springboard diving in Tokyo, finishing 10th in the latter competition.

This time, he just missed qualifying in the synchro at the U.S. Olympic trials in June, placing second with Quinn Henninger. But Capobianco came back to claim the individual event.

So that will be his 20/20 focus at the Paris Olympics, which begin with events on July 24 and the opening ceremonies on the 26th. Capobianco starts with qualifying rounds for his event on Aug. 6.

“I definitely am a more experienced and I would say a lot better diver on all aspects now than I was three years ago,” Capobianco said. “… I was fourth last year at the world championships, so I would definitely like to move up from there and hopefully get into the medal contention.

“There are a lot of great athletes in my event and so it will be a pretty good battle for even top three. But I think with what I’ve shown the last couple of months and especially the scores I put up at Olympic trials, I definitely have a good shot at being in those medals and potentially vying for the gold."

Capobianco and Henninger, who replaced the retired Hixon after Tokyo, came in a mere 2.37 points behind Greg Duncan and Tyler Downs at the trials in the synchronized event. The failure to advance stung Capobianco, who felt bad for Henninger, too.

Mike Capobianco, Andrew’s dad, was there. They spoke on the phone in the wake of that disappointment.

“The next day, I said, ‘Do you want to go out for breakfast or lunch?’ ” Mike said. “He said, ‘I really just need to digest this and get it out of my body.’ He reset very well.”

So well that he claimed his individual ticket to France.

“That really showed me what I’m made of and also makes me feel really confident leading into Paris,” he said. “But it was quite an upsetting couple of days afterwards.”

The last time he made the Olympics, he was bothered by a back issue. And then last December, he underwent knee surgery.

“I’m feeling good,” he said. “I mean, I still have some lingering things with my knee. It’s not perfect. And similar with my back. I’m kind of just in a management phase where I’m not feeling pain-free at all. But I think I’ve really learned how to manage my injuries well.”

Capobianco was born in Mineola and lived in Wantagh until his family moved to Holly Springs, North Carolina, when he was 13 and about to enter high school.

He began in gymnastics, winning a Junior Olympic floor exercise title before going all-in on diving.

And he was ahead of his time, taking the Nassau County boys diving championship as a seventh- and eighth-grader while competing for Wantagh High School.

Ultimately, Capobianco went to the University of Indiana, becoming a four-time Big Ten Diver of the Year, three-time national champ and 12-time All-American before graduating last year.

But his Island roots run deep inside.

“I always think of Long Island really as my home,” Capobianco said. “It was where I grew up and obviously where I started doing gymnastics and diving. I had such a great base there with both of those sports and great coaches there as well.

"I’ve already gotten so much support from all my friends in Long Island with just some texts and phone calls, congratulating me and kind of wishing me good luck in Paris.”

His dad is from Brooklyn and his mom, Darlene, is from Freeport, and they are both retired Nassau County police officers.

With no pandemic-related fan restrictions, they will attend the Olympics this time along with Andrew’s brothers, Matthew and Christian. There will be a group of 16 to 18 family members, friends and others, including some Long Island connections, on hand to cheer on Capobianco.

“It should be a really good time,” Mike said. “We’re super excited.”

There’s another person with ties to Andrew and Long Island who will be there — his coach.

Drew Johansen is also Indiana’s longtime diving coach and now the four-time U.S. Olympic diving coach. His father is from Patchogue and his mother is from Sayville. Johansen spent summers at his grandparents’ house in Sayville when he was growing up.

“We could walk down to the bay, go sail on the boats, go to the beach,” Johansen said. “We loved it.”

Johansen also loved what Capobianco did in 2021, mentioning how he overcame his back problem at the trials and then the Olympics, excelling despite bad spasms that impacted his training.

“Long Island strong,” Johansen said.

Johansen said Capobianco’s “ability to perform under pressure is special.”

All things considered, he’s in a better place to try to earn America’s first Olympic medal in the men’s individual 3-meter springboard since 1996.

Or as Johansen put it: “He’s in a good position to challenge anybody in the world.”

Laura Wilkinson, an NBC analyst and 2000 Olympic gold medalist in diving, likes Capobianco’s medal chances.

“With Andrew’s degree of difficulty, I think he could be in there,” Wilkinson said on-air at the trials.

Capobianco coaches a junior diving program in Bloomington and wants to make coaching his profession. Paris isn’t it for him as a competitor, though.

Yes, he’s looking forward to some time off in order to heal and have a mental break from the grind. But he plans to continue with Henninger and he wants in for the next ultimate meet — the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“I think in my mind right now, I definitely do see L.A. as a possibility,” Capobianco said. “Whether I come back as just a synchro diver or I continue to do individual and synchro, that would be up to me and how my body is feeling.

“But I do definitely want to stick around. I think that would be a real cool thing to have a home Olympics.”