Aussie diver Maddison Keeney claims women’s 1m gold at World Aquatics C’ships, China take mixed team gold

SINGAPORE – As Maddison Keeney prepared to take her last dive in the women’s 1m springboard final at the World Aquatics Championships on July 26, the memory of a botched dive at the 2015 edition came up in her mind.

Back then in Kazan, Russia, nerves got the better of her and she fell off the board, earning zero points as a podium finish slipped from her grasp and she plummeted to the bottom of the 12-diver field.

This time, however, Keeney was amused, not mortified at the memory.

Unfazed, the 29-year-old delivered her final dive, a forward two and a half somersaults with one twist in the pike position to earn 72 points, bringing her total to 308.00 to secure her second world title in the event after her 2017 victory.

China’s Li Yajie (290.25) and Italy’s Chiara Pellacani (270.80) placed second and third respectively at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.

Singapore’s Ashlee Tan (196.85) and Fong Kay Yian (184.35) finished 40th and 45th.

Keeney said: “I actually did think about it and I laughed a bit to myself because in the past, that would have really affected me mentally, making me think about other things, getting nervous about whether I might fall off again.

“I’ve got a lot of experience now and I know that things happen in diving, so if it happens, it happens, and all I can do is just do my best.”

Starting her championships campaign with a win has given her a boost ahead of her other events in Singapore: the women’s 3m synchronised, 3m springboard and mixed 3m synchronised.

On the expectations, she said: “It was more from me because I know that with the high level of difficulty in my dives, I have the potential to win more easily than others.

“So it’s really good practice for me to compete with that external expectation, with everyone thinking that I can do it.

“It’s also really good practice for my 3m event, which is my main event, so I’m really grateful for having the opportunity to put myself in a difficult position under a lot of pressure and still perform well.”

With four titles at the world championships, including the mixed 3m synchronised titles in 2019 and 2024, Keeney has contributed to half of Australia’s gold medals at the world meet.

Yet she insists that she is just a regular person who has managed to achieve significant sporting success.

Outside of diving, she has a full-time job as a mining technician specialist at BHP, working five days a week – two days in the office and three from home.

She said: “We’ve always had (Olympic medallist) Melissa Wu, up until she retired last year, she was always a really big face for diving in Australia. Even though I’ve had a lot of success, I haven’t really promoted myself on social media as much as she did.

“To be a figurehead for Australian athletes, I’m really happy to be in that role and to be a role model for others. I just feel like a normal person – I’m an athlete, I train really hard, and so if the other people I train with can see me as I am and still achieve success, that means others can too.”

The first day of the diving competition in Singapore saw powerhouses China claiming two golds, as the squad of Chen Yiwen, Chen Yuxi, Cheng Zilong and Cao Yuan won the first title of the meet in the mixed 3m and 10m team event with a total of 466.25.

Mexico took the silver with 426.30, while Japan (409.65) bagged the bronze.

Singapore’s quartet of Tan, Max Lee, Avvir Tham and 14-year-old debutante Ainslee Kwang scored 242.20 to place 20th out of 21.

Yiwen, a double gold medallist at the 2024 Paris Olympics, said: “This is the first time the four of us are taking part in this mixed team event, and we’re very glad to have done so.

“I think us springboard divers gave the platform divers a little bit of pressure towards the end, but our platform divers performed incredibly today.”