I am in love with my diving again and will become an Olympic champion, whatever happens

The prospect of the Paris Olympics is exciting, but it doesn’t scare me now that I have a new mentality and attitude.

For a long time it seemed like the Games were a long way off, an overwhelming prospect with so many hurdles to overcome. For a long time it seemed impossible. But now we are almost there.

After the national championships in December, a huge wave of stress was lifted from my shoulders and although I talked to my coach, I also learned to handle the pressure on my own.

I also didn’t want to spoil my experience by thinking about the Olympics too early or diminish the importance of other competitions, and this approach helped me find my center.

That was always the end goal, but a packed schedule of national championships followed by world championships and three World Cup stages got in the way. Added to that was the many trips, which can be the hardest part of a professional athlete’s life, but which I have learned to live with and which I enjoy a lot.

You get to visit incredible countries, experience such cool cultures and eat great food, so we can’t complain! Now I’m back in training though and my ultimate goal is Paris. I’m back on the 10m board and I have a lot of support behind me.

The National Lottery supports us in so many different ways, one of them is that they provide us with the best support staff, including my strength and conditioning coach who helps me focus on building strength and weight training, which is vital for me before games.

Of course I talk to my teammates about the prospect of the Olympics, but the experience is so valuable because it comes from yourself. This cycle lasted three years instead of four because the 2020 Olympics were held a year later because of the pandemic. I honestly don’t know if that was an advantage or not.

Another year would probably have been stressful, but I have made good progress since my Olympic debut in Tokyo and now I want to put that behind me.

I have no expectations of myself. I want to enjoy it. At 16 years old and struggling with my mental health, I didn’t enjoy myself at all in Tokyo. I felt like my Olympic experience was being robbed of me because I felt so little joy.

This time, there is no school work to distract me or to focus on at the same time, and no excuses, and that helps me. I am in love with diving again and I think any athlete would agree that if you love what you do, you train and therefore perform better.

I’m going into these games completely changed. I was in such a dark place last time and I thank God for helping me get through it.

It’s another competition, after all. When I look back, I see a drastic change in my face – at the last Olympics I was sad, depressed and anxious. I am a completely different person now, and for the better.

Whatever happens in Paris, happens. It won’t destroy me or break me down. I know I put everything into my training and preparation leading up to these Games and this time I’m fully present as a person. That’s my mindset now and I’m excited.

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