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Player Bio: Joona Puhakka



**Four-Time NCAA Diving Champion**

ASU: Four-time NCAA champion on the 1 and 3-meter springboard...three-time Pac-10 Diver of the Year and six-time Pac-10 Diving Champion...has won the 1 and 3-meter at the Zone E Championships each of his three seasons...owns four of ASU's six official diving records...has competed in the 2000 (Sydney) and 2004 (Athens) Olympics for his native Finland...was the gold medalist on the 1-meter springboard at the 2004 European Championships in Madrid, Spain...placed third on the 1-meter springboard at the 2003 World Championships to earn the bronze medal.

Awards and Honors:
... ASU school record holder in one-meter and three-meter six-dive formats.
... Four NCAA titles (1-meter, 2003, 2005; 3-meter, 2004, 2005).
... 2004 NCAA Diver of the Year.
... Six NCAA Zone E Diving Regional titles (1-meter, 2003, 2004, 2005; 3-meter, 2003, 2004, 2005)
... Six Pac-10 Championships (1-meter, 2003, 2004, 2005; 3-meter, 2003, 2004, 2005)
... Three-time Pac-10 Diver of the Year (2003-05).
... Two-time Olympian in 2000 (Sydney) and 2004 (Athens) competing for his home country of Finland.
... Gold medalist on the 1-meter springboard at the 2004 European Championships in Madrid, Spain.
... Silver medalist on the 3-meter springboard at the 2004 European Championships.
... Bronze medalist at the 2003 FINA World Championships in 2003.
... 2005 Dr. Jim Brock Award

2004-05: Named NCAA Diver of the Year as he swept the 1 and 3-meter springboard events at the NCAA Championship...repeated as the Pac-10 and Zone E Champion on both the 1 and 3-meter...broke ASU's dual meet record with a 403.58 against Stanford...also set a school record for the 1-meter championship with a 421.05 at the NCAA Championships...set the 3-meter dual meet record with a 449.48 against California...placed 19th on the platform at the NCAA Championships.

2003-04: Earned first-team All-American honors on the 1-meter and 3-meter...won the NCAA title on the 3-meter springboard to become the first male student-athlete in the history of the program to win two national championships in a career (he won the NCAA 1-meter title as a freshman in 2003)...placed third at the NCAA's on the 1-meter...he swept both the 1-meter and 3-meter events at the Pac-10 Championships and the NCAA Zone E Regional meet for the second year in a row...was the top qualifier out of the Zone E Region...won the 3-meter Pac-10 title with an astounding total of 674.75 points to beat his own school record by nearly 25 points and outdistance his nearest opponent in the event by nearly 100 points...that score was a new Pac-10 record...also set a school record in the first meet of the season at Hawaii when he totaled a 390.70 in the 3-meter, 6-dive event...was named the Pac-10 Diver of the Year for the second year running.

  Joona Puhakka
Joona Puhakka
Player Profile
Class:
Senior

Hometown:
Helsinki, Finland

High School:
Mäkelänrinteen Lukio

Event:
Diving

Four-time NCAA Diving Champion Joona Puhakka


2002-03: Had one of the most prolific freshman seasons in school history...earned three All-American honors, including first team for the 1m and 3m springboards...went undefeated all year on the 1-meter...NCAA Champion on the 1-meter springboard in a school record-setting performance of 395.80, defeating his nearest opponent by nearly 37 points...first national diving champion for the men's program in 35 years...placed third at the NCAA's on the 3-meter springboard (642.65)...placed 16th at the NCAA's on platform...was the 12th-highest individual point scorer at the NCAA's...won Pac-10 titles on both the 1m and 3m...set the school record on the 3m, 11-dive at the Pac-10s (650.70)...placed third on the platform at the Pac-10s in a personal best 456.40...named Pac-10 Diver of the Year and Newcomer of the Year...won both the 1m and 3m at the Zone E Championships...set the school record in the 3m, 6-dive in his first meet as a Sun Devil versus UNLV (387.90)...set a meet record at the Dallas Morning News Classic on the 1m (391.50), which is also the ASU record for 1m dual competition.

High School/International: A 2002 graduate of Mäkelänrinteen Lukio (Helsinki, Finland)...was sports captain for his school for 2000-2001...placed fourth on the 1-meter and ninth on the 3-meter springboard at the 2005 FINA World Championships...was 14th in the 3-meter springboard at the Athens Olympics in 2004...placed 30th in the Sydney Olympics (2000)...placed second on the 3-meter springboard at the 2004 European Championships to earn the silver...finished fifth on the 3-meter springboard at the 2004 FINA Diving World Cup in Athens, Greece...finished third in 1m springboard at the European Championships in 2000...finished third in the 1m at the Junior World Championships in 2000...finished second in both the 3m and 3m synchro at 2000 Junior European Championships.

Personal: Majoring in Marketing...born June 23, 1982, in Helsinki, Finland...parents are Elkka and Marjo Puhakka...has one older brother, Jani Puhakka (26), and an older sister, Milla Löfman (29) ...full name is Joona Tapio Puhakka.

PERSONAL BEST SCORES:
1-meter (6 op.) :403.58 -- ASU Record
1-meter (championship): 421.05 -- School Record
3-meter (6): 449.48 -- School Record
3-meter (11): 674.75 -- School Record
Platform (10): 456.40