For as long as she can remember Dominique Philippopoulos has always been happy in the water as she highlights it as a special place.
So the Northcliff Melville Times spoke to Dominique to find out more of her experience of being a member of the International Technical Diving Committee for FINA (Fédération Internationale de Nation) at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
For her, it is the sense of freedom, silence from the chaos in the world, being able to float and the joy of not having to speak to a single a person that makes being in the water one her fondest experiences.
Dominique, who coaches at Rippers Diving Club, thinks diving is such an intricate sport because it combines so many sports. She said you need some gymnastic skill, some ballet as it is required to make it look effortless, hours of training, and the ability to do it all and hit the water without a splash.
“Each dive is a challenge on its own and along with all this learning, there is the fear that one has to overcome.”
She added one could do all the preparation and all the strength training, ultimately, one has to take that risk and leave the board and believe they will get the dive without too much going wrong in the dive.
Sometimes though, it does go wrong, and the water is like concrete. “Ask anyone that has taken a crash, they will tell you.”
The coach cited persistence, rationalising fear, strength, grace, hours of training along with managing, in South Africa, a winter season with no diving into the water as there is not a single indoor pool to train, as the characteristics exuded by a great diver.
She said this sport is just amazing to watch, has the highest international viewings at the Olympic Games, and divers are the most unique athletes to engage and work with. “It really is so unique, and the energy no matter how hard we struggle is amazing”
When speaking of her experience of being at the Games, she said though she worked behind the scenes she was one of the privileged few who got to watch a few of the games. “We were so happy to be able to hold this event in such concerning conditions.”
There were many strict Covid-19 protocols followed at the event and even so, for Dominique it was important to host.
Many of the divers had very little competition practice and many had been out the pool due to isolation restrictions in their respective countries. She explained how athletes, coaches, technical committees, and volunteers all had rigid rules to stick by.
