Olympic champ Greg Louganis is no stranger to the high dive. He’s made a big splash in the diving world and is considered by many to be the greatest ever. Currently, he’s a mentor for the US Olympic diving team and is a judge for the Red Bull Cliff Diving Tour.
Cliff diving is the ultimate outdoor diving sport. Competitors, both men and women, dive from dizzyingly high heights that are up to 91,000 feet in the air and plunge into a body of water below. It’s the ultimate adrenaline rush for these daredevil divers.
“Safety comes first for the athletes, as they troll the depths to be sure there is adequate depth to the entry points from which they are diving. In outdoor natural settings the conditions can vary, and be very challenging for the divers. It takes a strong mental approach to maintain consistency in the accumulation to finally crown a winner,” reveals Greg to Healthy Hollywood.
The Red Bull Cliff Diving World series takes places in the most beautiful spots in the world, from Italy to Chile to right here in the United States in Boston. “Since there are very few training facilities, these divers have to be creative and use mental imagery in preparing for the competitions. Most will do portions of the dive from ten meter platforms to practice the mechanic of the first portion of the dive. Then practice the second portion of the dive, entry from the same height. Finally, they will combine the two halves of the dive often for the first time once they get to the competition site,” adds Greg.
Greg says it takes a tremendous amount of ‘mental toughness’ combined with a ‘leap of faith’ to execute these daredevil stunts.
Strength, grace, and precision are the key to a good dive. “Take off, looking for a strong powerful jump. Flight, for lack of a better term how “pretty” it is in the air, and entry, are they straight up and down, little splash, and nice line of entry. Since that it is the last thing the judges see, often times it is hard not to just judge the entry, but we try to be objective and take in all aspects of the execution of the dive, and over all impressions,” states Greg to Healthy Hollywood.
And, Greg admits he hasn’t done extreme cliff-diving, but it’s on his bucket list. “I have been dreaming about that, so I think it is more “when”. A simple dive, not the complex dives many are performing now. Would I imagine I would be scared….HECK YEAH! But I also feel I would like to experience what they do as a judge to gain a great understanding.”
For more on the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, check out www.redbullcliffdiving.com .
— Terri MacLeod
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