I have always wanted to be a diver. So at the centre where Tom Daley once trained, I aim to graduate to a five-metre board – arms locked, bend, one, two, go …
I’m standing on a five-metre diving board – about the height of a two-storey building – preparing to throw myself off, headfirst. And I’m terrified. I take a determined step towards the end, lock my arms above my head and begin to tip forward.
I have always admired people who can dive, and secretly wished that I could do it. I watch them taking off from great heights, seemingly floating for a second, before arrowing smoothly into the water. How do they do that? When I get up there, the thought of leaping headfirst short-circuits my brain. Won’t my neck snap? So I’ve come to one of the world’s best diving centres, the Life Centre in Plymouth, the former training pool of diving superstar Tom Daley. Hopefully, with a little help, I can become one of those elegant, effortless diving types.
