Sponsored by
Lottery Leon aiming to turn benefit kid into Athens champ
SHEFFIELD diver Leon Taylor is hoping to knock football off the back pages this summer as he prepares his Olympic challenge.
Leon heads to Athens along with Jane Smith, Tony Ally and Mark Shipman as Sheffield-based divers dominate the British team.
Today, in an exclusive interview with the Star, he reveals his hopes and dreams for Athens 2004 and the agony of failure he experienced at the Sydney games four years ago.
"If you follow sport in Sheffield, it tends to be Wednesday or United, but over the summer I hope to be able to add diving to the list of sports renowned within the city, as I go for Olympic gold in Athens," said Taylor.
"At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, I was an excruciating fourth place with Peter Waterfield in the men's synchro 10-metre platform dive.
"I had been struggling to support myself with help from my parents and had signed on for benefit to pay my training costs.
"Four years later, I am about to compete at a selective competition in Mexico with Peter, where only the top four pairs and top eight individuals in the world have been invited.
"This is a huge testimony to how far Peter and I have come, and the fantastic chance we now have in Athens to win.
"Thanks to the National-Lottery-playing public, my financial position has dramatically changed, and I have been able to dedicate myself to training in the sport I love.
"I started diving when I was eight at around the same time that I was competing in a huge variety of sports.
"I was a hyperactive child and my parents decided that sport was the best way to control me. It wasn't until I was 12 that I narrowed down the sports I was competing in to gymnastics, swimming and diving, before finally dedicating myself just to diving around 13 years old.
"Throughout all the sports, training and competition I have done, my folks have been my inspiration as they gave up so much of their time and commitment for me and my sister for our sports.
"The funding I have got now means that I don't have to rely financially on my parents anymore, and I am able to train full-time for six hours a day, six days a week. It has lifted the burden I had on my training.
"UK Sport award Lottery funding if you are ranked among the top 20 in the world in your sport, so there is pressure to consistently perform well.
"This acts as a great motivator. It also helps against competitors who have world-class facilities.
"Through funding British divers have made an impact on the world. Facilities in diving have also greatly improved. I used to train at a local pool in Cheltenham where the platform was only five metres.
"This was a bit of a problem as I am a 10m specialist, and so after my A-levels I moved to Sheffield where the incredible Ponds Forge facilities had been built.
"The sport of diving has also greatly benefited from a great coach. Wen Chen has been employed through the UK Sport World Class Performance scheme, and came to England fresh from coaching the Australian diving team to their first Olympic gold medal since 1924.
"He was national team coach for Australia for eight years, and before that the Chinese national team coach.
"I am going for gold in Athens, and my biggest motivation will be the fourth place I got in Sydney.
"I know I have more talent and determination, and I am also a great believer that the only way to prepare for the Olympics is through the Olympics.
"Other people will be distracted out there but I know I will benefit from my experience and know that I can control myself."
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
