Channing Kimball Hurst ’00 Makes a Splash at 2024 Paris Olympics

A member of the GPS Class of 2000, Channing Kimball Hurst grew up on Signal Mountain, where she first discovered her passion for diving at age seven. In fact, she even went to school dressed as her diving coach for her third grade “When I Grow Up” dress-up day. But she didn’t necessarily see diving as a career. 

“Growing up, I really wanted to own and operate a summer camp. I had gone to a camp for horseback riding in New Mexico, and it was a safe and fun place to be myself and try new things,” she says. When she went to college at the University of Wyoming and studied business, it was in an effort to follow that dream.

But after diving throughout her four years in college, she decided she wasn’t ready to give it up quite yet, and she began her coaching career in 2007. After nearly a decade as a college coach at Alma College, Brown University, and the University of Denver, she transitioned into an administrative role, becoming the Assistant Athletic Director for Student Success at California State University, Monterey Bay. 

“In that role, I regularly worked individually with student-athletes to help them solve problems or assist them in any area that they need support,” Channing says. “I advised the athletics director on student-athlete experience issues, maintained the student-athlete handbook, advised the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and monitored and maintained Title IX and Gender Equity compliance in the athletics department.” She also created the school’s student-athlete leadership academy, Otter L.E.A.D.

With both coaching and admin expertise, Channing joined USA Diving in 2022 as the High Performance Manager. Under the High Performance Director, she works on everything from travel for the elite squad to evaluating synchronized diving pairings.

After coordinating lead-up logistics for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Channing traveled abroad with USA Diving for the main event. While she had a range of roles and responsibilities throughout the month overseas, her favorite task was serving as the Friends and Family Coordinator. “I’ve gotten to know these families from the Olympic Trials through the whole Olympic process, and being able to take that distraction off the athletes is huge,” Channing says. “The athletes are pulled in a lot of directions with training and media, so it is important for me to be the go-to person for the friends and family members so the athletes can solely focus on their job of competing.”

While USA Diving earning a silver medal at this year’s Games in the Women’s Synchronized 3-meter Springboard competition was likely Channing’s favorite memory, she was fortunate to be able to enjoy other events as well, such as a men’s and women’s tennis semifinal, a water polo match, and even road cycling.  

“It's all just crazy and fun,” Channing says. “It’s wild to be on such a big stage. You cross paths with people from all over the world, and it’s so cool to see people from every Nation interacting with each other and being supportive.” 

Since USA Diving returned home just days ago, you'd think Channing might like to rest, but she’s already excited for the next cycle. “We’ll start a new squad leading up to the 2028 Olympics (in Los Angeles, California), which is exciting because we’ll be on home turf. We’ll also likely see a lot of new divers on the squad, since some of our athletes could retire after the Paris Olympics,” she says. “It’s going to be a fun next four years of developing these divers, which is a big part of my job. We run camps and send people to domestic and international meets to get experience with the goal of giving divers the opportunity to compete at the highest level.” 

With her 10,000-foot perspective of elite athletics and her background as a GPS student, Channing is uniquely equipped to offer valuable advice for student-athletes looking to continue their sports at the next level. “My first recommendation is to look at every level. Division I, II, and III, as well as junior college,” she says. “You really need to find the school and athletic program that is right for you, rather than focusing on the starryness of DI.”

She also encourages finding internships or jobs in a university’s athletic department to get a feel for the range of roles available. “There are a lot of opportunities out there if you are interested in working in athletics,” she says. “I wasn’t the best diver, I just really enjoyed it and kept at it.”

That tenacity, in fact, is one of the traits Channing credits to GPS. “GPS means everything to me,” she says. “If someone were to ask me where I learned my work ethic or how to be professional—I always come back to GPS.”