Passion is hard to extinguish

"I learned to dive when I was 10 and started getting serious when I was 13," Winterbottom said. "I was diving three times a day, every day."

She went to Florida State on a diving scholarship, but lost her drive. Several years later, a friend called and nudged her back into the pool - this time in Master's diving.

The spark re-lit. Fifteen years later, Winterbottom captured her ninth and 10th national championships in her age group at the U.S. Masters Summer Diving Nationals in Chicago Aug. 20-22. She won the 1-meter springboard to go along with titles in 1998 and 1999. She finished second in the 3-meter in Chicago while also winning her seventh-straight synchronized diving title.

"It was a fun meet. I worked really hard for this," Winterbottom said.

Training a couple days a week at Highlands Recreation Center in San Mateo since March, she ramped up her training in June. But with two kids, 9 and 11, Winterbottom had to wait until summer before making the hour-long drive to Walnut Creek to get the specialized coaching she needed to excel at this level.

"The minute school let out, I headed to Walnut Creek," Winterbottom said. "Even recently, I would be up there (on the diving board), I would just be shaking. It's just so fun to overcome that fear and land (the dive)."

Masters swimming and diving is open to anyone over 21. Participants compete against others within a five-year age range. But don't expect cannonballs and simple somersaults off the board. Many of those competing have significant diving backgrounds, many even at the college level.

"Everybody is usually pretty good," Winterbottom said. "Last year, I competed against a former Olympic diver. She beat me by 10 points on each board. To be beaten by an Olympian, that's alright."

Winterbottom, 44, is a physical education teacher at George Hall Elementary School in San Mateo and a diving instructor at Highlands Recreation Center. While living in San Diego in 1991, she competed in an international meet in Edmonton, where she took first place. But pregnancy and family life again put diving on the backburner, but this time, the flame never went out. After moving to San Mateo, Winterbottom competed at the 1998 Masters nationals meet in Santa Clara where she won her first national title on the 1-meter.

"After Santa Clara, I just got hooked," Winterbottom said.

She also decided, almost on the spur of the moment, to compete in the 3-meter competition as well, although she hadn't been on the "high dive" in 10 years. She quickly scrolled through her mental catalog, remembered some dives and went for it.

It didn't go as well as planned. On a reverse 1 1/2, she didn't rotate far enough and landed on her back.

"I've never landed so flat in my life," Winterbottom said. She suffered whiplash, a pinched nerve and a herniated disk in her back. It wasn't a deterrent. Chiropractic work and rehab got her back on the board in a couple months and she's been going strong ever since.

Winterbottom is competitive, but also effervescent and outgoing. She hasn't lost sight of the true meaning of Master's competition.

"It's Masters, you can't take it that seriously," she said. "(It's a chance) to physically and psychologically challenge yourself."

She also looks at it as an opportunity to show her kids that there's more to mom than just playing chef, baby-sitter and taxi driver.

"I'm hoping it puts a different light in my kids' eyes that if you work really hard (at something) it will pay off," she said.