Christian.

Welcome friends to the Christian O'Connell Show podcast.

Christian O'Connell's Golden Moments, counting down to the games in Paris.

Matthew Mitchum at the 2008 Beijing Olympics winning gold on the 10-meter platform.

Diving is a sport of absolute precision because if you give it too much, then you're

going to over-rotate it or if you don't give it quite enough, then you're going to have to

compensate in other ways. So you have to replicate it the exact same every single time. When I was

going into my last dive, I was standing in the stairwell, you know, waiting for the Chinese

diver to go before me.

But when he went, I heard the whole crowd go, ooh. And I didn't know if that was a good ooh or a bad ooh.

And I blocked my ears and went, la la la la la la la la. As the judges read out the scores, because I didn't want that to affect my dive at all.

And then when it was my turn to go,

I must have been present enough because I was doing my hair as I'm walking to the end of the platform, you know, clearly like aware that millions of eyes are watching me. But, you know,

once I actually got to the end, it was just one of those in the zone moments where, you know, time kind of slows down But, you know, once I actually got to the end, it was just one of those in the zone moments

where, you know, time kind of slows down

and the rows of the stands on either side

just fade to nothingness.

And I just remember thinking to myself,

you know, there's nothing more I can do now.

So just relax, enjoy yourself and have fun.

And I don't remember the dive itself,

but I remember coming to, like, underneath the water.

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