High divers need to be 'comfortable with fear'

People see high divers as daredevils for risking serious injuries every time they jump off a cliff or tall platform.

- Melvyn Teoh

But underneath that calm facade is the inherent feeling of dread each time the athletes step up to the edge.

Ask four-time high diving world champion Rhiannan Iffland and she would readily admit to feeling afraid, even now.

The Australian said: "Every time I get up to the 20-metre platform, I have that sense of fear and everything. It just never goes away.

"Because it is scary getting up there. Every single time you walk up and you think about the 'what ifs', and you think about the things that could go wrong."

The extreme sport, which entails men leaping from a platform 27m high and women taking the plunge from 20m, is seen as the most death-defying event at the World Aquatics Championships (WCH).

Iffland, who claimed world titles in 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2024, is among the 16 women and 23 men who are competing in high diving at Palawan Green in Sentosa from July 24 to 27.

The 33-year-old heads the women's field after two rounds on July 24 with 169.50 points, ahead of Canadian Molly Carlson (165.80) and Colombia's Maria Paula Quintero (146.10).

A self-confessed adrenaline junkie, Iffland is not alone in having to constantly conquer her fear.