COOL YONA BLAZES NEW TRAIL FOR JAMAICA
IT’S the greatest Jamaican sports story since Cool Runnings.
But unlike his country’s bobsled team, Yona KnightWisdom will be a genuine medal chance at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in April.
Knight-Wisdom, 22, is blazing a trail in diving, a sport virtually unknown at the elite level in Jamaica.
While he was born and raised in the UK and has come through that country’s diving system, KnightWisdom proudly represents his father’s country of birth and became Jamaica’s first Olympic diving representative in Rio de Janeiro last year.
“I’ve been referred to as a similar story to the Jamaican bobsled team for sure,” said Knight-Wisdom, who was on the Coast for the FINA Diving Grand Prix event at Southport. “Other countries in the diving community love joking about that.
“And it is, in reality, a very similar story – a sport that is really unheard of in Jamaica and I come out of nowhere and make the Olympic Games, it’s kind of crazy.”
What’s not crazy is Knight-Wisdom’s ability.
He finished fourth in the 3m springboard final at Southport, just missing a place behind world champion Siri Xie, Olympic gold medallist Yuan Cao and Rio bronze medallist Patrick Hausding.
It’s a pointer to a strong performance at the Commonwealth Games, especially with experience in blustery conditions at the outdoor venue under his belt.
“Some of the Australian divers had told me how windy it can get here but I never really appreciated it until I dived here,” he said.
“The prelim and semifinal was very tough and then coming into the final I probably faced different conditions again. But it was really great to get the experience and competitive experience as well.”
Knight-Wisdom says he isn’t motivated by medals but concedes he’d love to be on the podium in April to inspire a new generation of Jamaican divers.
“The beautiful thing is, anything can happen in an outdoor pool, absolutely anything,” he said.