Diver who hated heights to compete in Olympics
Jordan Houlden said he found the experience of doing trials as a child "quite daunting"
- Published
A diver who could not swim and hated heights is to compete for Team GB at the Olympic games in Paris after he was talent spotted while at school.
Keen gymnast Jordan Houlden, 25, was picked as having Olympic potential when he was just eight years old when spotters went to his school in Sheffield.
He said that as a child diving "wasn't the first thing I ever wanted to do". He said he had preferred BMX riding, boxing or karate but added that he now loved the sport.
"It is quite surreal knowing I'm going to perform on a big stage like that - mind-blowing really," he said.
At the age of eight, Houlden went for trials and learned the fundamentals of diving before transitioning to training in a pool.
Describing the initial experience as a child as "quite daunting" he said: "In the pool, I couldn’t swim, so on the first day I didn't want to get in.
"The second day I jumped off poolside and said I wasn’t doing that again.
"The next day, I jumped off the 1m board and said I wasn’t doing that again," he joked.
He said it was "quite surreal" how he was now set to represent Team GB on a world stage.
Houlden has won gold, silver and bronze medals at a variety of competitions across the world
He will be taking part in the 3m individual springboard event in August and winning a medal "would be the world", he said.
Houlden won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2022 for the 1m springboard event, winning gold in a competition in Germany earlier this year.
He also won silver in the 3m synchronised event at the World Aquatics Diving World Cup in 2023.
He said he followed an intensive training regime from 08:30 to 16:00 every day and his friends and family were "the heart and soul" of keeping him going.
"They’re the number one reason why it’s worked out pretty well for me," he added.
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