Cougars Shine at Olympics

When it comes to athletes, Cougars stand among the best. And at the Beijing Olympic Games, a select few made that very clear.

Cougar alumna Yulia Pakhalina (‘05) captured silver in the women's 3-meter springboard diving event to capture her second silver medal at the games.

Pakhalina, who competes for Russia, won her first silver medal in the women's synchronized 3-meter springboard event, where she paired up with teammate and current Cougar Anastasia Pozdnyakova.

Former Cougar Tania Cagnotto finished fifth in the event.

While Cagnotto only competed at Houston for one season, she set a UH and Conference-USA record by being named C-USA Diver of the Week nine times and swept all three diving events at the 2006
C-USA Championship. She was just the second diver in C-USA history to win all three diving events at one championship meet, joining Pakhalina who accomplished the feat in 2002.

Pakhalina took home bronze in the 3-meter springboard and silver in synchronized diving at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. She also was a gold medalist in synchronized diving in Sydney in 2000.

While at Houston, Pakhalina was a five-time NCAA individual national champion in the 1-meter and
3-meter springboard. She also recorded 36 consecutive wins in collegiate competition and was an
11-time C-USA Diver of the Week.

Houston diving coach Jane Figueiredo (’87) is an assistant coach for the Russian team for the third time, including in 2000 and 2004. She also was an assistant coach for Great Britain in 1996 and competed as a diver in the 1984 Olympics in Portugal.

And away from the pool, former Cougar track and field star Ebonie Floyd (’07) qualified for her first Olympic Games with a sixth-place finish in the women's 400-meter at the U.S. Olympic Trials, earning her a spot in the 4X400-meters relay pool.

Floyd is a four-time NCAA All-American and holds five Cougar school records. She was a two-time
C-USA Female Athlete of the Year, and she holds three C-USA meet records. And, she won an unprecedented 12 combined C-USA championships.

During her senior season, Floyd won the 200-meters at the NCAA Midwest Regional, setting a meet record with a time of 22.32. She also won the 100-meters. Her performance that day earned her the U.S. Track and Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association South Central Regional Female Track Athlete of the Year.