Australian diving team's home away from home on the road reaping rewards
Bickering, banter, compassion, laughs – the Aussie diving team have created a family atmosphere on the road as they chase the wins.
Diving
'China's golden streak snapped as Cassiel Rousseau wins 10m Platform,' trumpeted the headline on the World Aquatics news feed following the spectacular win by the Aussie diver at the World Championships in Fukuoka on 22 July.
'Rousseau leaps into the history books with Australia’s first diving gold,' blazed the Brisbane Times, the local news outlet of the newly crowned men's world champion, the only diver from a nation other than People's Republic of China to win a diving world title at the 2023 Worlds in Japan.
Screaming their support from the sidelines were the 22-year-old's team-mates, a posse of Aussies who have become so close while travelling, competing, and training together so very far from home, they are akin to one big family.
As Rousseau's compatriot and fellow medallist at the 2023 worlds Maddi Keeney put it in an Instagram post in March 2017: "Spent more time in China than I have home in Perth, sorry Mum".
One of the family
That support is vital, especially for the Antipodean side who travel for further and are longer away from home than many of their competitors.
Take the past year as an example.
In mid-June 2022, the squad were in Europe – Budapest, Hungary specifically – for the 14-day long FINA World Aquatics Championships, followed by a visit to the UK for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games from 28 July-8 August.
A return home for an end-of-season break, followed by the resumption of training and increasing focus toward the next Olympic Games at Paris 2024.
The annual Diving World Cup series resumed in April, in Xi'an, People's Republic of China, with a quick trip 'home' for the Australian Open Championships. No time to relax in Perth, however – itself a five-hour flight for those from Brisbane and Sydney – as the championship served as a selection event for the aforementioned World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka.
A trip to the Montreal, Canada edition of the World Cup series continued in early May before the trip to the worlds in Japan in July.
The third and final Diving World Cup of the season, the Super Final, concludes the season for the world’s best 3m and 10m athletes with start lists based on rankings from the two previous World Cup stops.
Taking place 4-6 August in Berlin, Germany, the likes of China's recent eight World Championship gold medallists – Chen Yuxi, Quan Hongchan, Chen Yiwen, Chang Yani, Lian Junjie, Yang Hao, Wang Zongyuan, and Long Daoyi – will be competing against that thorn in their side, Rousseau, and his compatriots.
Nikita Hains and Cassiel Rousseau of Team Australia compete in mixed team event at 2023 World Championship
Friends in high places
After three years away from competition with injury, Keeney's return to international competition with a gold medal in the women's 3m synchronised springboard discipline at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, was marked with what began as an emotional Instagram caption:
"It’s been a long 3 years but I'm glad to be back 😎 The journey isn't over yet but I wouldn't have made it this far without @anabellesmith sticking by my side...," citing her synchro partner with whom she won Olympic bronze in the 3m synchro competition at Rio 2016, before continuing with: "... and @cassielrousseau telling me to not shit the bed".
That reference, slang for 'failing spectacularly' is typical of many sibling dynamics – brutal honesty and humour, at which the Aussies are particularly adept.
That close-knit bond is also revealed in a post in which a snapshot captures Rousseau high in the sky above the head of a posing Keeney as the friends mess about at the pool, captioned by Rousseau: "maddi, kate and my white cheeks hope you’re having a great week".
Additional bonding for athletes encompasses fun stuff such as Olympic Games opening ceremonies, or exploring cities in downtime, but compassion abounds for those going through the rigours of rehab, sometimes without any indication whether they will ever be able to return to the sport they love.
Aussie talent pool
On Olympic Day, 23 June, Smith slipped on her Tokyo 2020 costume for training and at the end of the session did her first hard dive back since rupturing her Achilles in December.
"I had the same level of nerves and adrenaline as I did at all three Olympic Games," said the 30-year-old, "but took a little deep breath on the board, reminding myself I’ve worked hard every day to get back to feeling a moment like this again.
"It was extra special having my whole rehab team on pool deck to watch and celebrate the milestone together."
Meanwhile, Aussie diving legend Melissa Wu also posted a nostalgic post of winning Commonwealth Games gold with young diving partner Charli Petrov in 2022.
The pair are rehabbing from injury, with Wu posting in mid-July: " So looking forward to us being back up there," to the accompaniment of Jack Johnson's Better Together, the lyrics saying it all: 'It's not always easy and sometimes life can be deceiving, I tell you one thing it's always better when we're together.'
Perhaps this is the mantra the Aussies adopt when on the road, where it comes as no surprise that the family-style cocoon on tour, including laughter, bickering, and compassion in their home away from home is producing increasingly impressive results.
The World Aquatics World Cup Super Final in Berlin, Germany takes place from 4-6 August.
Samuel Fricker and Shixing Li of Team Australia take a selfie with their medals at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games