Rio 2016 - Jamaica’s diving face is ready to deliver

Divers from China, Brazil, Great Britain, Mexico, Jamaica, Malaysia, Russia among other nations were fine tuning their Olympic preparations at the Maria Lenk outdoor pool on Friday August 5, just hours away of the big celebration of the Opening Ceremony, kicking off the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

In a sunny, relaxed but concentrated atmosphere, divers were making the latest adjustments to their techniques which require strength, flexibility and a lot of precision at the same time.

A total of 136 divers, 68 men and 68 women, representing 29 nations are taking part in the Games. Among them, Jamaica’s only diver in Rio –Yona Knight-Wisdom, 21, registered for the individual 3m.

Knight-Wisdom trains in the UK where he lives but has Jamaican parents and heritage which play an important part in his life. He was discovered by his coach six years ago, coming from gymnastics, and his talent and hard work toward the discipline of diving have been paying off.

With his 1m90, Knight-Wisdom is significantly taller than his opponents but according to M. Handel O. Lamey, Amateur Swimming Association of Jamaica President, “his height gives him a strong advantage. Because he is so tall, he gets really high up in the air. It gives him more time to execute so that is a great advantage. He definitely has good athletic genetics. When he dives he gets a lot of height.”

President Handel O. Lamey confessed that “it is a tremendous honour for him to not only take part in his first ever Olympic Games, but also being the one and only diving face representing the Caribbean island.”

“He was first allowed on the British team as he lives in the UK but he decided to represent Jamaica and it’s a big honour for him and for us. We are very excited to have him on board with the rest of the team.”

Jamaica’s delegation is composed of 63 athletes: 1 diver, 1 gymnast, 2 swimmers and 59 track & fields.

Very proud of the newest addition to Team Jamaica, President Handel O. Lamey added: “Since he was discovered he has been doing very well, especially at the 2016 Diving World Cup here in Rio, where he qualified.”

Concluding the short interview, Mr. Lamey praised another key player of his team - swimming star Alia Atkinson.

“She is one of the favourites, namely because of her World Record (in the women’s 100m breaststroke, short course) and she’s been doing very well at every meets she has been attending. The expectations are way up there.”

Atkinson was elected Jamaican Athlete of the Year in 2015 and Rio 2016 is her fourth Olympic Games.

As Mr. Lamey said “Things are coming together for her. We would be so pleased if she was on the medals podium. It would be our first Olympic medal in swimming so we’d love that!”.