Regardless of whether he's eyeing a 15-foot birdie putt or bounding from a 3-meter diving board in the Summer Olympics, ASU junior Joona Puhakka is as intense as they come.
Puhakka might be passionate about his golf game, but his skills are unrivaled in collegiate diving. Since Puhakka, a 22-year-old Finland native, came to ASU in August 2002, the ink has never dried on the school's record books.
Even after four national championships, Puhakka insists he's not done.
"I think I am nowhere near what I can do," he said. "I have achieved a lot, but athletes are really greedy for their own success, so nothing is ever enough."
The winner of this year's 1-meter and 3-meter national titles, Puhakka said all he has left to accomplish are personal bests and Olympic dreams.
"It's hard for me to look back and say if I have achieved my goals because I always keep setting them higher and higher and higher," said Puhakka, who hopes to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Puhakka made his Olympic debut last summer in Athens, marking a 14th-place finish in the 3-meter semifinal round. If the Olympics had a 1-meter event, Puhakka might have wound up on the podium.
"I'd say that he is one of the top three guys on the 1-meter," ASU diving coach Mark Bradshaw said. "He is probably one of the top eight divers in the world on the 3-meter."
Bradshaw said Puhakka took a risk by committing to ASU.
"He had never even been to the United States before," Bradshaw said. "There is a risk on both parties [Puhakka and ASU] because you don't know if he's going to like it or not. You've got to really want it if you are going to make it work."
Bradshaw contends that Puhakka has become a beacon for ASU.
"He's a great ambassador for the University, the athletic department and for swimming and diving," Bradshaw said.
Puhakka agreed to start competing on the platform to help ASU score extra points at meets.
"Either you are a platform diver, or you're not," said Bradshaw, comparing the difference between distance swimmers and sprinters. "Joona has embraced it. He doesn't like it, but he's trying to get points for the team."
As a freshman, Puhakka marked just a single point on the platform at the NCAA Championships, but that was enough to help ASU edge Alabama for 11th place.
Bradshaw admitted he ironed out some wrinkles in Puhakka's form, but he said Puhakka came to Tempe with all the tools needed to become a great diver.
"I started swimming when I was 5," Puhakka said. "I always snuck out from swimming practice and went diving. I always wanted to challenge the swimmers, but I could never beat them."
Puhakka trained with his synchronized diving partner, Ville Vahtola, for 10 years before deciding a change was in order.
He said he considers ASU his second home. He plans to live and train here after his eligibility expires next year, partly because he can wander Mill Avenue free of scrutiny from the media.
"I really enjoy the situation here because people don't recognize me," said Puhakka, recalling the time photographers harassed him at a Finland nightclub. "When I go home, I have sort of a celebrity status in the sense that people talk about me."
For Puhakka, the only downside to training exclusively at ASU is that he sometimes gets homesick. Diving competitions have kept him from several family obligations, including his sister's wedding.
Puhakka tried to convince his diving partner to relocate to Tempe, but military service prevented him from moving overseas. Puhakka said he'll eventually have to serve in Finland's armed forces for as long as a year.
Bradshaw figures Puhakka will continue diving into his early 30s.
"At some point in time, it may be an economic thing," said Bradshaw, who placed fifth on the 3-meter springboard in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. "He may decide sometime down the road that it's time to get out into the real world. I competed until I was 34, and I felt like at my peak when I was about 30."
For the time being, Puhakka is focused on this summer's World Championships and the fall diving season.
"He's got himself to be one of the best in the world," Bradshaw said. "I know Joona wants to be even better. Now it's just coming down to those fine little details."
Reach the reporter at mark.saxon@asu.edu.
