yona’s
Story
Ahead of the British diving championships that took place in Sheffield, we caught up with two time Olympic diver and Trust athlete mentor Yona Knight-Wisdom to talk about his career so far and how his experience as an elite athlete is helping to support young people on Trust programmes.
What have been your best sporting achievements?
My sport is diving, and I’ve been doing it for 18 years now. My best achievements are silver medals at the 2019 Pan American Games and 2016 World Cup, as well as competing at the Olympic Games in Rio and Tokyo, making the semi-final stage on both occasions.
What makes the Olympics such a special event?
For me, it is the fact as a nine year old, I watched the 2004 Olympic games on TV, just after I’d starting diving. I decided there and then that I was going to be an Olympian. Of course, the experiences themselves were incredible in Rio and Tokyo, being surrounded by superstar athletes I’d watched on TV for years, but it’s special because it showed me that dreaming big can result in amazing things.
One of the most common questions I’ve had since Tokyo is “what was it like with the restrictions?” And my answer is, it certainly can’t be compared to my experience in Rio, but it definitely still felt like an Olympic Games. There was a good vibe from all everyone in the village, I think athletes were just happy to be there in the environment even though it was so unusual. But the importance was still there and that was made clear to me after I missed out on the final and was completely overwhelmed with emotion which is very rare for me. One of the best highlights away from competition was bumping into Andy Murray in the village and swapping a pin with him which I was unable to do five years earlier in Rio!
“Seeing the smile on the face of the young people when they have achieved something they didn’t think they would be able to do, knowing that I’ve had a direct and positive influence in helping them believe in themselves, which will hopefully snowball into more and more self-belief and confidence.”
You started diving at nine, how did you fit sport into your life when growing up?
Sport didn’t fit in with my life, life had to fit in with my sport. For me, sport has always been and still is at the centre of everything, whether that was playing football all lunch with my mates on the playground, trying to be a part of every school sport team, or having to sacrifice social life, events and parties because of diving training. Not to say I didn’t do anything, I still had fun with friends outside of sport and I still made sure to work hard at school and university alongside training, but sport was always the priority.
What role models did you have growing up and in your sport?
My biggest role model was Usain Bolt, he’s partly the reason why I chose to represent Jamaica, and to be a part of Team Jamaica alongside him in Rio was special.
Even though he is only a year older than me, Tom Daley was a diving role model. I always aspired to reach the levels he set from a young age, so my younger self would be happy that I now can call him a friend.
What would say are the skills you need to compete at an elite level?
I have eight principles that I think are required for elite sport, and these are areas that I have worked hard to improve over a decade of international competition:
Ambition and aiming high;
Dedication to my sport;
Enjoyment in what I do every single day;
Lifestyle, balancing fun and hard work but making sacrifices where necessary;
Psychology and a positive mindset towards everything;
Physiology, taking care of my body and making sure my fitness is to the required level;
Nutrition to have all the energy I need for training,
Resilience, because it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, there are really difficult patches that you have to be able to get through.
What has been your biggest sporting challenge?
When I was 14 or 15 I went through a significant period of growth, and had to manage knee injuries as a consequence. I couldn’t train at 100% and had to watch on as my friends got selected to represent their country internationally. I thought this period would never end as I was constantly training in pain, plus my body changed so much during this period that it affected my awareness in the air, which is crucial for diving. I had to be extremely patient and look after myself as well as I could, whilst doing everything I could to not fall too far behind.
How does competing in elite sport relate to the issues that young people face?
There are a lot of similarities between elite sport and the issues young people face. I think that sport exemplifies some of the challenges of life but puts you in a safe and progressive space to learn how to deal with those challenges effectively. Elite sport can put an athlete under stress with the demands of training and competition, but athletes have to handle this proactively in order to continue performing. Young people outside of sport face stress to a similar level, but because there isn’t a performance requirement it may not be managed as effectively.
What sort of things do young people usually ask you when you work with them?
They normally ask for advice about situations they are currently experiencing. Because of the time I’ve spent as an elite athlete I have directly or indirectly experienced most situations, so I feel that I can offer good advice for anything.
But the most common question is “what was the Olympics like?”
What attracted you to becoming an athlete mentor with the Trust?
I love conversing and connecting with people, sharing my own experiences and if possible, using those experiences to help people find improvement in their own lives. This is why I started coaching diving as soon as I could, it felt good to see the development of my young divers, and it gave me a way to share my knowledge. Similarly, mentoring allows me to do this and hopefully make an even bigger impact on even more young people, showing them they shouldn’t be scared to dream big and chase ambitious goals. Mentoring perfectly fits with my personality and values, and I’m excited to see what I can do!
You’ve just finished delivering your first On Track to Achieve programme, is there a highlight you can share?
It’s hard to pick a highlight because there were just so many positive things! Looking at the bigger picture, seeing the change in all the young people from the first session where they were stood so far apart from one another and nervous to speak, to the last session where I set the task, stepped back and let them do their thing. They collaborated so effectively with one another it was impressive to watch. Their social action projects were also really successful, so seeing them deliver together was a major highlight.
What is your favourite thing about being an athlete mentor?
Seeing the smile on the face of the young people when they have achieved something they didn’t think they would be able to do, knowing that I’ve had a direct and positive influence in helping them believe in themselves, which will hopefully snowball into more and more self-belief and confidence.