Australia's Maddison Keeney Explains How She Overcame Her Mental Demons to Win Paris Olympics Silver in the Women's 3m Springboard Final
PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 09: Silver Medalist, Maddison Keeney of Team Australia poses with her medal after the Diving medal ceremony after the Women's 3m Springboard Final on day fourteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Aquatics Centre on August 09, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)(Getty Images: Adam Pretty)
Maddison Keeney has overcome the nerves that used to sabotage her diving career as she became the first Australian diver ever to win an individual Olympic 3m springboard medal — a glorious silver — in Paris.
The 28-year-old from Perth could hardly credit her best day in the sport as she even received her biggest medal yet on the podium from one her heroes, Oscar-winning actress and IOC member Michelle Yeoh.
"I love you!" Keeney told the Hollywood star, admitting later: "I probably embarrassed myself …"
But Yeoh must have been enraptured with the Aussie too.
Winner of a springboard synchro bronze in 2016, she had delivered her best ever performance under the utmost pressure on Saturday morning (AEST), beaten only by another of the seemingly invincible Chinese divers, Chen Yiwen.
Having enjoyed a decade-long career with considerable success, especially with synchro partner Anabelle Smith, she scored 343.10 from her five-dive program as Chen proved a runaway winner with 376.00.
But the real mark of Keeney's quality was beating the other Chinese diver Chang Yani (318.75), who made a mess of her first dive, into bronze.
Needing to nail her final, most fiendish dive — a forward two-and-a-half somersaults with two twists — Keeney did just that, producing barely a splash on entry.
It scored her 78.20pts, not just her highest of the competition but the best by any of the 12 finalists in the last round, leaving her proud and close to tears.
"It's everything. Coming from kind of the bottom of the barrel around 2020, 2021, missing out on the Tokyo Games (through injury). But it's made me a better person, a better athlete, and I've re-fallen in love with the sport," she said.
by abc.net.au
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