Plymouth Divers shine at London Legacy Open
London, England – November 17-20th, 2023 by Stefanie Pearson
Plymouth Diving left an indelible mark at the London Legacy Open. The prestigious event, held at the iconic London Aquatics Centre, served as a stage for divers both nationally and internationally.
Plymouth Diving’s athletes demonstrated their prowess in various diving categories, supported by huge cheers from possibly the loudest teammates. Their commitment to excellence was evident throughout the competition, reflecting months of dedicated training from coaches Sally Freeman, Fito Gutierrez and Harry Mason.
With eight podium finishes Plymouth Diving medal winners were: Ollie Heath, who dived up an age group into A group boys. Ollie walked away with a gold medal and a PB, scoring over 500 points on the 3m board, as well as a silver medal on the 1m springboard.
His brother Will Heath also added to the medal tally in the boys C age group with an improvement to his preliminary round scores to claim the gold in the 3m final, and a bronze medal on platform.
Euan McCabe secured the silver medal on the 10m platform after a great scoring last dive resulted in him being a huge 61.7 points ahead of the bronze position having made a recent return to the platform after a hiatus which saw him concentrate on the springboard events during the last year.
A further medal for Plymouth Diving came from Noah Underwood, stepping up to the elite test after he secured a bronze on 3m in the boys B age group, whilst just missing the podium on platform in 4th place and 6th place on 1m.
Not much room was left on the podium in girls A group on the 3m after Amelie Underwood took silver and Katie Martin bronze in a tightly fought battle with four Plymouth Divers taking the eight finals spots. Maia Pearson finished just a point away in 4th and Ellie Pearce just behind in 6th with Scarlett Colbourne diving up an age in 13th. All girls competed again on 1m with Ellie finishing in 5th place in the straight final.
Lexi Davies stepped into her first elite test with a series of excellent dives on all three boards just missing out on the platform by a point but gaining valuable experience going forwards.
Archie Waines moved into his first men’s senior events on the 1m and 3m, diving against experienced athletes but kept his composure with some brilliant diving and supplying great experience for the next competition.
Theo Stevens, diving up an age category performed on the 1m and 3m boards, whereby he just missed out of qualifying for the finals by a fraction of a point.
In addition to their individual successes, Plymouth Diving also excelled in the synchronised diving events. The seamless coordination and synergy displayed by the duos underscored the team’s cohesion with Katie Martin and Maia Pearson placing 4th, and Scarlett Colbourne and Lexi Davies 5th. Family duo Amelie and Noah Underwood also added to the team points collected during the whole event by entering the SuperDave team event and placing 10th, with Plymouth Dive team finishing the team scores in 4th place.
Head Coach Sally Freeman’s leadership at the event played a pivotal role in Plymouth Diving’s success. Her guidance coupled with a keen understanding of each diver’s strengths, propelled the team to achieve their best performances.
“This event arrives very early in the season so was a tough ask of these athletes who stepped up and some standards for 2024 were achieved. For others a first step was made on the journey, but for all it was an important start to their year” said coach Sally.
The London Legacy Open served as qualifier for the British Elites Junior Diving Championships next year and provides insights into areas for improvement. Four of the divers now set their sights on the British Diving Cup held in Edinburgh next month.
Plymouth Diving’s success at the London Legacy Open reinforces their standing in the world of diving and into the season ahead. This was further bolstered by learning that Plymouth Diving won Swim England Dive Cub of the year, and Sally Freeman took the bronze as Coach of the year at the Swim England National Awards 2023 held in Birmingham this weekend.
The club thanks the continued support of Plymouth Active, Plymouth Life Centre as well as sponsors Pilkington Estates.
