He’s got the gold

]At only 14, Andrew Capobianco has quite the resume in his young diving career. The former Wantagh student recently earned three gold medals at the 2014 National Junior Olympic Summer Championships last month, and is now off to compete at the FINA World Junior Diving Championship in Russia.

As a middle school student, Andrew spent two years on Wantagh’s varsity swim team before moving to North Carolina last summer to pursue his talents even further. As a seventh-grader, he broke a county record for an 11-dive competition, and then set another record the following year. He won Nassau County championships both years.

“He just had this great gymnastic ability that he transferred into diving,” said Chris Rafferty, Wantagh High School’s swim coach. “I wept when his dad told me the family was moving. We miss him.”

Rafferty described Andrew as a humble and dedicated person, and someone who “really has what it takes to go to the next level.”

During the Junior Olympic competition, in Knoxville, Tenn., Aug. 4-9, Andrew won all three events in the boys’ 14-15 division — the 1- and 3-meter springboards and the 10-meter platform. According to his father, Michael, the last diver to sweep the competition was Kristian Ipsen, who competed for the U.S. in the 2012 Olympics.

“This is just something that doesn’t get done often,” Michael Capobianco said. “He had quite a meet.”

Andrew’s scores were so high that he stayed a few extra days to take part in the senior championships, most of whose competitors are in their 20s. He dived with a partner in the synchronized event, and they finished sixth in the finals.

Andrew started diving when he was in elementary school. He originally took part in gymnastics, but during a field trip to a town pool, his dives caught the eye of a coach. That was the beginning of what is quickly becoming an accomplished diving career.

He practices four hours a day, six days a week at Duke University in Durham, N.C. Despite the rigorous training schedule, he said, he never puts too much pressure on himself. He sets goals and works hard to achieve them, but doesn’t beat himself up. His motto: “Just make sure you have fun.”