He has won 54 national titles, 24 international titles, seven NCAA individual titles and four CIF-Southern Section titles.

He is a 12-time collegiate All-American, a four-time high school All-American and a two-time USA Diving Athlete of the Year.

But one hole remains in Troy Dumais' distinguished diving résumé an Olympic medal.

Determined to fill that void next year in Beijing, the 27-year-old Buena High graduate is bringing a single-minded focus to his training this year.

"It is a gold-or-go-home-type mentality," Dumais said. "There is no wanting to win. If you go there just to medal that shows there is a little bit of doubt, and I am not training as hard as possible to get third."

Dumais participated in the last two Olympics, finishing sixth in each appearance in the 3-meter springboard and fourth and sixth, respectively, in the 3-meter synchronized.

Having slimmed down to 143 pounds this year, Dumais believes he is in the best shape of his life. He changed his diet by eliminating junk food and adding more fruits and vegetables.

"I just decided if I wanted to be the best in the world, I better look like the best," said Dumais, who still treats himself to an occasional bag of Skittles or Swedish fish. "I wanted to get a little bit leaner and faster and make my dives better. As you get older, you get smarter and hopefully I am getting smarter."

A University of Texas graduate, Dumais is living in Austin and training on campus with his coach Matt Scoggin.

Dumais works out six days a week on the board and four days a week in the weight room. His water workouts can last as long as four hours and he often performs multiple workouts each day. But the dedication is paying dividends, says Scoggins.

"His diving has improved significantly in the last 12 months in part because of that willingness to go the extra mile in the weight room and make wise choices outside the pool," Scoggins said. "You see pictures of him now compared to how he was a couple years ago and he looks so much more fit and is diving so much more dynamic."

Although Dumais has retained his competitive intensity during meets, age has mellowed him a bit outside of the pool and provided added perspective.

When he visits cities, he now takes more time to walk around and absorb the culture instead of holing up in his hotel room.

"I am going to win, but I am going to enjoy it and whatever happens, happens," Dumais said. "If I force myself to win everything and not experience some other stuff, I am going to go crazy."

Scoggins points to the period immediately following the 2004 Athens Games as the turning point for Dumais.

"You could see he was able to be more relaxed and have fun," Scoggins said. "Sometimes you want something so badly, you will try too hard. I think he has matured and is trying not to put too much pressure on himself. He knows it's just a sport and it's just for fun."

Troy is one of three Diving Dumais siblings still competing in the sport. Older brother Justin is flying jets in the Air National Guard and younger brother Brice is in law school at Southern Methodist.

Little sister Leanne has one year of eligibility remaining at Northwestern after sitting out last season with an injury while his youngest brother, Dwight, captured the Pacific-10 Conference title this year as a sophomore at Stanford.

"The last few years I have grown even closer to my family," Troy said. "I enjoy talking to them because I don't get to see them much with all my training, and the time I see them is special. You realize sooner or later that smallest thing can turn into nothing."

As more of his friends join the workforce, Dumais is often asked why he hasn't walked away from diving after 24 years twisting into the water.

"I haven't reached the goals I always wanted since I was a little kid," he said. "I could go make a half-million somewhere else and settle down with a family, but I can dive at a certain level for only so many years. I don't want to ever regret that I didn't do something as long as I needed to."

With the Pan American Games on the horizon and the Olympic trials only a year away, Dumais is saving the retirement talk until after his medal chase is complete.

"The biggest question I have for myself is When is it time to start my life away from what I love?' " he said. "But if I love what I am doing, I am going to continue doing it until I don't like it anymore. And right now, I am loving it more and more each day."