Pete Waterfield - "One of the dives we do could kill you"
Tom Daley's synchro partner will be aiming for his second Olympic medal, as the men's 10m platform preliminary rounds begin tonight
Tom Daley may be Britain’s most famous diver, but when it comes to the synchronised diving event, he’d be nothing without his experienced partner Pete Waterfield. And this week Waterfield is poised to give his team-mate a run for his money in the individual 10m diving competition.
A veteran of the sport at 31, with a Commonwealth silver and gold in his trophy cabinet, as well as an Olympic silver in the men’s synchronised 10m platform competition from Athens in 2004, Waterfield won individual bronze in the diving world cup earlier this year.
“I train for six hours a day,” he says. “It’s tough, but then we hit the water at 40 miles an hour when we dive, so it’s important to be very fit. You have to be tight when you come out of a dive or you’ll hurt yourself. We also do a lot of trampolining as well as technical work.”
He says that the key to winning in London will be confidence. “If you have a negative thought in your head when you leave the diving board, the dive will be negative,” he says. “Being mentally strong is extremely important. One of the dives we do you could kill yourself on, so you have to be mentally tough. Luckily, Tom and I are.”
See Pete Waterfield and Tom Daley in the men’s 10m platform preliminary round tonight at 6:55pm on BBC Olympics 3. The final is on Saturday 11 Aug at 8:30pm on BBC1 and BBC Olympics 2
