AUSTIN, Texas (U-WIRE) – Two years ago at the NCAA Championships in Georgia, the entire University of Texas men’s swimming and diving team stood on the first-place podium. Among them were Justin and Troy Dumais, two brothers whose spectacular dives helped Texas win its ninth national title.
The two stood with their team on the podium, horns held proudly in the air.
“They were enjoying that moment as a team,” Texas men’s and women’s diving coach Matt Scoggin recalled. “Not as brothers or individuals, but as a team. That was a great day.”
On Aug. 16, the Dumais brothers will try and reach the top podium once again, this time in Athens and, this time around, as their own two-man team. Justin and Troy are taking their talents to the 2004 Olympics together in the men’s synchronized springboard final.
But the rise to the top hasn’t always been easy. Justin, who had been ill since early November, just recently became healthy enough to train for the Olympics.
“He lost his energy,” Kathy said. “Blood tests showed his thyroid was a little high, and they started treating that. It turned out he was poisoning himself with Aspartame.”
Aspartame, which can be found in everything from diet drinks to protein shakes, is a popular artificial sweetener.
Doctors found that Justin was very sensitive to the sweetener, and once he stopped using it, his health vastly improved.