Plymouth Diving returned to full time training at the beginning of September following a difficult period where the diving pool at the Life Centre was shut for over 17 months. With less than 7 weeks full time training behind them a 13 strong team of divers were back in action last weekend at the Southampton Invitational.
Group D boys were represented by Oscar Westbury and Will Heath. Oscar had a challenging preliminary round on the 1m board but was unperturbed, going on to comfortably win the bronze medal. Will proudly joined Oscar on the podium with his silver medal. Not content with one medal Will also won a bronze on the 3m board.
Ollie Heath in group C had a rewarding weekend. After winning the preliminary round on platform he was not willing to give the top spot up and secured the gold in style. In a closely fought 3m event Ollie won the silver medal.
Scarlett Colbourne in group C dived consistently and with confidence on the 1m and 3m board. She narrowly missed out on the 3m final in 7th position. Scarlett finished 4th out of 29 to make the 1m final.
Katie Martin was the highest scoring group B Plymouth girl on 3m. Team mates Maia Pearson and Ellie Pearce battled through a group of 29 divers with determination to make the 1m final which paid dividends, Maia won the bronze medal and Ellie the silver.
Lucy Gutierrez-Freeman was the only diver in group A from the club. She finished 4th on 1m and won the silver medal in a thrilling platform final.
Other team members included Alex Whittaker, Eva Lang, Lexi Davies and Phoebe White. They all set themselves new personal best targets after moving up a group from their last competition. Ben Hall and Alex both executed new dives with twist for the first time.
Tommy Davis coached all of the divers after stepping in at the last minute when another coach had to withdraw. At only 19 this was a massive undertaking for Tommy which he did with great enthusiasm. He played a vital role which contributed to the team’s achievements.
