Cindy Shatto
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Cynthia Shatto | ||||||||||||||
Born | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | June 19, 1957||||||||||||||
Died | October 3, 2011 Miramar, Florida, United States | (aged 54)||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||||||||||||||
Weight | 126 lb (57 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Spouse |
William Weingartner
(1985–2011) | ||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||
Country | Canada | ||||||||||||||
Sport | Diving | ||||||||||||||
Event | Platform diving | ||||||||||||||
Coached by | John Dickinson Don Webb | ||||||||||||||
Retired | June 1, 1978 | (aged 20)||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Cynthia "Cindy" Shatto (June 19, 1957 – October 3, 2011) was a Canadian diver. She won a gold medal in the 1974 British Commonwealth Games 3 metre springboard event and competed in the women's 10 metre platform event at the 1976 Summer Olympics, where she finished fifth following controversy over the judges' scoring.
Shatto began competitive diving when she was 8 years old and won nearly all diving events of her age group. To further develop her skills, in 1970 she and fellow diver
Shatto retired from competitive diving in 1978 after growing tired of a
Career
Childhood and early development
Born in June 1957,[1] Shatto began roller skating at the age of 2 and later took up acrobatics, modern dance and learnt to play the violin.[2] She started competitive diving at the age of 8 in her family's backyard pool in Willowdale, Toronto. Her father would play diving games with her, using a long garbage sweeping pole for her to run and leap over "like a porpoise". Under the early coaching of John Dickinson, Shatto won "just about every age-group meet she entered".[3] Among her first recognised competitions was the Ontario under-10s 1-metre diving championships, where at the age of 8 she scored 84.20 points and won in her age group.[4] At the age of 9, she practised 33 feet (10 m) platform diving at the open-air pool in Summerville, occasionally being blown by wind from the tower due to its location near the edge of Lake Ontario. Despite the extreme cold weather conditions, she persevered.[3] A few weeks after her ninth birthday, she became the Ontario diving champion in the girls under-10 age category with a score of 132.75[5] and followed it up by becoming the United States diving champion in her age group.[6]
By the age of 10, she had experience with playing the violin, acrobatics, contemporary dancing and baton twirling. Her mother described her as persistent, saying that "if she discovered something she couldn't master, she'd get mad, sulk, but stick it out until she got better."[3] Shortly before turning 11, as a member of the Etobicoke Diving Club, she won the under-14 tower event in the Ontario open championships, which brought her competitive record to 26 first place finishes, two second placed finishes and one third place finish across 29 events.[7] Shortly before her 12th birthday, she finished runner-up in the 1969 Ontario open 3-metre diving championships in the girls' under-15 category.[8] At the age of 13, she was invited to train with national coach Don Webb, requiring her to live with Webb's family for around three years, the first two years being in Winnipeg.[9]
During her earlier years, she frequently ate excessive amounts of chips and gravy, with other children using it as her nickname. Having been admitted to hospital with constant stomach pains due to excessive greasy food, her gallbladder was removed which left her weak and unable to train during the winter of 1971–1972.[3]
Competitive diving
By 1973, she had been living with Don Webb's family for three years, training up to five hours a day, six days a week, or longer when preparing for a competition. Alongside
Depression
Prior to the 1976 Olympics, Shatto went through a depressive period around 1974 and 1975, losing her motivation for competitive diving and developing a poor attitude. Her performances during this time barely reflected her talent as a top three diver in Canada. She even considered retiring from the sport to live a more traditional lifestyle, like her sister Becky, who was recognized as a "female athlete of the year" in high school. She started comparing her life to her sister's and felt envy. Shatto's father, a perfectionist, couldn't understand her change in attitude or lack of interest in diving. After reflecting on the positive aspects of diving, including international travel and the people she had met, Shatto was offered advice by fellow diver Beverly Boys, which helped her regain her motivation and confidence. She began serious practicing again around August 1975 and accepted that if she performed poorly, it would be due to lack of practice, not attitude.[12]
Olympics and beyond
She had taken a year out of high school in 1976 to train for the Olympics full time. Shortly after turning 19, Shatto competed in the 1976 Olympics and was in second place in the
Retirement
On the eve of the
Later life
In later life, she was an executive secretary with Xerox around 1987[2] and later an assistant to the owner of Mundial International. In June 1990, she relocated with her family to Binghamton, New York where her husband grew up, having grown tired of Florida. It was the first time Shatto had lived in a small town, which she liked due to being "family-oriented".[9] She answered an advertisement in September 1990 for a job as a diving coach and was successful at securing the role at Binghamton University,[16] which her husband later noted had a positive effect on her.[9] During a 1977 interview she had expressed reluctance to enter coaching, believing that she did not have the "outgoing personality" that was needed to get divers to do the dives she would want them to.[13]
Personal
Born as Cynthia Shatto in June 1957,[17] her father, Dick Shatto, was a professional Canadian football player and member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.[1] and her mother was Lynne Shatto (nee Garlough[18]). Cindy was the third of five children and attended Rideau High School. During her diving career, Shatto measured 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m) tall and weighed around 126 pounds (57 kg).[3]
A long-term resident of
She died of lung cancer in October 2011 at the age of 54, following a two year battle.[1]
References
- ^ ProQuest 2384589719. Retrieved March 27, 2022 – via Proquest.
- ^ ProQuest 386075110. Retrieved March 27, 2022 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b c d e f "What's a nice girl like you doing up there on that board?". The Montreal Gazette. March 3, 1973. pp. 68–69 – via Google Newspapers.
- ^ "Cindy Shatto Wins Diving". The Expositor. March 28, 1966. p. 9 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Point Claire Boy Diving Champion". The Gazette. July 2, 1966. p. 15 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Top swimmers from Ontario will take part at pool opening". The Sun Times. June 10, 1968. p. 7 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Point Claire divers score". The Montreal Star. May 27, 1968. p. 29 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Liz Carruthers 2nd in Ontario open meet". Edmonton Journal. May 5, 1969. p. 25 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g "'Fifth best in world isn't bad'". Press and Sun-Bulletin. February 20, 1991 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sweep for Shatto, gold for Pearce". Winnipeg Free Press. May 25, 1976. p. 55 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
- ^ "Cindy Loves To Dive". Winnipeg Free Press. May 2, 1974. p. 58 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
- ^ "Shatto takes competitive plunge again". Calgary Herald. September 5, 1975. p. 34 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Cindy is back, and it's just in time". The Montreal Star. July 29, 1977. p. 33 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Medallist retires". Medicine Hat News. June 30, 1978. p. 13 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
- ^ "Cindy Shatto retires from diving scene". The Ottawa Citizen. June 28, 1978. p. 30 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Ex-Olympian tests waters at SUNY". Press and Sun-Bulletin. February 20, 1991. p. 13 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cynthia L. Weingartner in the U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014". U.S. Social Security Death Index. October 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
- ^ "Shatto's grandparents 'walking on air'". Tampa Bay Times. February 20, 1974. p. 19 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cynthia Lynne Shatto in the Florida, U.S., Marriage Indexes". Florida, U.S., Marriage Indexes. Retrieved April 2, 2022 – via Ancestry.
External links
- Cindy Shatto at World Aquatics
- Cindy Shatto at Olympics.com
- Cindy Shatto at Olympedia
- Cindy Shatto at the Canadian Olympic Committee
- Cindy Shatto at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)