DIVING IN

Fresh from the Tokyo Olympics, New Zealand diver has already set his sights on Paris 2024. Here, he talks diving without an audience and LGBTQ+ representation in sport

After making a splash at the Tokyo Olympics, New Zealand diver Anton Down-Jenkins talks LGBTQ+ representation in sport

For a sportsman who didn’t think he’d even qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, diver Anton Down-Jenkins, 22, surpassed his expectations when he finished eighth in the final of the men’s three-metre springboard. Although he’s currently spending some time away from the pool to catch up with his studies at the University of North Carolina (UNC), he’s already setting goals for the Paris 2024 Games. Here, he reveals when he first fell for diving and what he really thinks about competing in Speedos.

How was your first Olympic Games?

It was interesting. People have been asking me if it exceeded or met expectations, and I honestly can’t put my finger on it. I went into it having no expectations, especially around how the Games were going to run with

“On my first dive, I don’t think I’ve ever been that nervous. I was shaking”

Covid protocols and general day-today interactions with people. It looked like it was going pretty smoothly, so in that regard it was cool. In terms of competition, it felt less like I was competing in the Olympics, especially with no spectators there. It felt like just another diving event, with a few Olympic logos around the pool. I feel like, throughout the entire time I was in Japan, I was calmest when I was actually competing. What was it like not having spectators?

It was quite strange. I think not having spectators made competing less stressful. On my first dive, I don’t think I’ve ever been that nervous to get a dive off the board. I was standing there, shaking, telling myself, just go! Just go! After that, I relaxed a bit more. But in terms of spectators, I preferred that personally, because I get a bit nervous diving in front of really big crowds. And that stadium was large, there were a lot of seats, so I was actually quite grateful not having to compete in front of all those eyes, because I felt like I could control my emotions a little better and stay focused and ‘inside my body’. I think a lot of other divers struggled with that.

During the pandemic, have you competed in other events without crowds and found that it helped you?

Most of the competitions over the past 12 months have only had competitors there, so very similar to Tokyo. And I think that did set me up pretty well. Obviously, there was the thought in the back of my mind that there’s millions of people tuning into this live on TV.

You’re the first male New Zealand diver to qualify for the Olympics in almost four decades. You made the finals and finished eighth. You must be proud!

I was super-stoked. Leading up to the World Cup, I had reinforced in my mind that I wasn’t going to qualify, just because that’s the type of person I am —

so I wouldn’t be disappointed. And then I did qualify, which was obviously on my [bucket] list, but it wasn’t a life-ordeath matter. So, I ticked that off. Then I got to the Games, and I always try to go in with no expectations. Obviously, I wanted to do well, so I wanted to make the semi-finals, which I did. I was like, awesome. We did it. We’re done. Now, let’s do it again, have fun, and wave for the camera. I think that mentality helped because I qualified for the finals! It still feels like a fever dream; it is obviously a great achievement. And it was a really nice reinforcement that all the hard work I’ve been doing over the past few years has paid off. Are you looking towards Paris 2024? I have given that quite a bit of thought. When I joined my new coach 12 months ago at UNC, we set a bunch of goals for the next two Olympic cycles, with Paris 2024 being the main goal. Tokyo was

“It still feels like

a fever dream. All the hard work I’ve been doing over the past few years has paid off”

always a possibility. I’ve kind of ticked off everything, which is crazy — so, it’s back to the drawing board. But I am going to go for another cycle, I think, if I can make it happen financially; that’s always the tricky part. Diving is not a funded sport back in New Zealand and I have very limited time here in the United States in terms of my degree and eligibility to compete.

Are you resting now?

I am. After the Games, I had two weeks before my university semester started, so I wasn’t able to go back to New Zealand, which sucked. That was really difficult to deal with, having not seen family and friends in person for more than 12 months.

I’m a self-professed Mama’s boy, so not being able to see my mum has been really tough because she’s sacrificed everything for me. She’s a single mum who raised two kids and always got me into my international competitions. But I do have a really good support system here in North Carolina. I’m back in the weights room, which has been really nice, because I really enjoy lifting. And I’m definitely going to have at least a few more weeks off.

What do you do to relax?

In my free time, I like to do pretty much anything outside. I really like being in the sun, so, if I can get to the beach or go to a lake, I really enjoy doing that. I like hiking. And then on the flip side, I’m also very good at doing nothing. It’s nice not having any major commitments right now. I like watching Netflix and scrolling on my phone.

Take me back a little bit. How did you get into diving in the first place?

I used to be a swimmer. My mum and her family are a big family of swimmers. So, I was always in swimming lessons up until about 11. One day, my mum saw an ad at the pool for a diving lesson at the weekend. I think it was advertised as ‘Want an hour to yourself, parents? Drop your kids off, grab a coffee, and we’ll take care of them’. And she put me and my sister in that. It was a sneaky way of doing a little talent identification and recruiting kids to be part of a squad. They invited me and my sister to come along and train a few more times a week. And yeah, I ended up sticking with it.

Was it anything to do with the uniform?

Ah, that’s a sneaky question! No, I was actually one of those kids who refused to wear a Speedo until I got to competitive level where you couldn’t wear anything else.

But now you love it?

I tolerate it. I do get a little self-conscious because my family has a very long history of having weak glutes and flat butts. I get teased quite a bit for having a small butt — but I do my squats; I activate my glutes, they just don’t grow. It’s not my fault — it’s genetic!

Do you do any other sports?

There’s not a lot of free time to do much, actually. The men’s swimming and diving team here are really into beach volleyball. I’m not too good, to be completely honest. I’m really uncoordinated and people probably make jokes about me being bad at ball sports, because [laughs] I’m not very good at anything that requires handeye coordination.

Why is diving so accepting as a sport in terms of LGBTQ+ representation, with you, Tom Daley and Matthew Mitcham as examples?

I’ve thought about this quite a bit. There’s the argument that a lot