Before her freshman year at Auburn High School, Shawna Jordan’s dreams of athletic glory didn’t involve water.

Up until three years ago, it was all about dry land, apparatus and mats for Jordan, who was the 3A state diving champion last season as a sophomore and finished third at the 4A state meet this season.

For years, Jordan – a gymnast since she was 3 – had built a career as a club competitor for Auburn Gymnastics and later, Gymnastics Express.

“I did gymnastics for about 13 years of my life,” she said. “I was really good on bars and absolutely loved the floor exercise.”

While in middle school, however, it became apparent that something was amiss in Jordan’s elbow.

Jordan began to experience pain and swelling in the joint. Despite the warning signs, Jordan let her competitive spirit get in the way of seeking help.

“I competed for two years with it because I was stubborn,” she said.

As an eighth-grader, the pain became too much to ignore, however. Jordan soon was diagnosed with osteochondritis dissecans in her elbow, a repetitive stress injury that causes fluid loss in the joint and results in the drying of the cartilage.

“The joint is drying out and not getting blood, so it’s basically dying,” Jordan said. “If I had done something about it right away, I could have probably come back from it. But it just kept getting worse and worse and worse.”

After elbow surgery put an end to her gymnastics career, Jordan soon was looking for something to fill the void.

She first turned to the track, joining her school’s squad as a sprinter.

“I started around the time I couldn’t do gymnastics anymore,” she said. “I needed something to do. I didn’t know what I would do with myself. In gymnastics, you train 25 hours a week and it’s basically your life. I didn’t know what to do with myself without it. I was constantly bored.”

Sprinting filled the void, a little, Jordan said.

“For track, I really just run for fun,” she said. “I don’t really have any big goals for that.”

With a need to fuel her competitive drive, Jordan decided to try out for the Auburn swim and dive team.

“Normally gymnasts try out for diving, so like most I did too,” she said.

Taking flight at new sport

But unlike most gymnasts who use the sport solely as a way to keep their skills honed during the offseason, Jordan found out quickly that she had a knack for the sport.

“I started two months before the state meet,” she said. “And I took fifth place at state. I was surprised to even make it. It wasn’t a bad meet, but you could still tell I wasn’t really a diver yet. Everybody was, ‘Where did this girl come from?’”

Jordan credits her career as a gymnast with providing some of the basic skills necessary to compete and excel at her new sport.

“I knew how to flip and how to vault,” she said. “So that helped.”

She admits that there was a slight learning curve, though.

“Gymnastics and diving are different,” she said. “One of the things that was the hardest was getting used to going into the water headfirst.”

After her fifth-place finish at the 2006 3A dive meet, she doubled her efforts in the springboard event. The work paid off last season when Jordan posted a 420.95 score in the finals, taking home first place at the 2007 3A meet.

“Last year was one of the best meets I’ve ever had,” she said.

The win earned her a spot on the high school All-America diving squad, made up of the top 50 prep divers in the nation.

It also put a target on her back this season, as she stepped up to the 4A level with Auburn’s reclassification.

“It was hard, the divers who beat me really wanted to beat me,” she said. “It was hard for me because it was a lot of pressure having everyone after me.”

Although Jordan qualified for the state meet and took home third place with a 388.80, she was disappointed.

“I’m happy because I’m still up there, but I was going for first. That was my goal,” she said. “I missed a couple of my dives. Not totally missed them but enough to hurt.”

Now, with her junior season behind her, Jordan said she’s planning on concentrating on her studies, where she maintains a 3.7 GPA, and preparing for her final prep diving season next year.

“School was a big thing to fill the void (after I had surgery),” she said. “Now I’m in sports medicine and I really like that. And I work and just concentrate on trying to be a teenager.

“I want to be an orthopedic surgeon,” she said. “When I had my surgery that made me want to do that and help people.”

And on the diving board, it’s all about trying to take home the gold.

“I definitely want to win the 4A state title next year,” she said.