The diver, 27, talks about fear on the diving board, marrying an older man, becoming a father and maintaining his six-pack
I’ve always been an adrenaline seeker. I love rollercoasters, waterslides – diving is an extension of that. I grew up by the sea in Plymouth. From an early age my parents encouraged my brothers and me to swim in case we got into trouble in the water. Diving gives me that mix of being in the water, but at the same time the adrenaline rush of jumping off something really high.
I went through a stage of not being able to take off on the diving board. When I was younger and my arms and legs were growing at different rates, I used to get scared to go out there. I would stand on the end of the board and literally not be able to move my body. It’s called Loss Move Syndrome, where you suddenly freeze mentally and physically, forget how do to things. Even today, there are times when I get scared standing on the 10m board, but you need that little bit of fear, that adrenaline rush, to make you focus, to stop you making mistakes.
