The perfect platform

Waterfield: in search of diving perfection

Peter Waterfield fell into diving as a young lad.

Now the 30-year-old is aiming to compete at his fourth Olympics and hopes others will follow his lead.

"I stumbled across diving as a result of doing lots of different sports and realised I was really good at it," says the new Sky Sports Living for Sport Athlete Mentor.

"As a general rule I try to say to young people 'there is something out there that you'll be good at but you might not find it straight away - just keep looking'."

Peter's persistence paid off again this weekend when he won bronze in the men's 10m platform final at the World Cup Test event, staged at London's Aquatics Centre - a few miles from where he grew up in Walthamstow.

He realised he'd nailed his last dive - a back two-and-a-half somersault with two-and-a-half twists in the pike position - as soon as he entered the water.

"You know you've got a good rip entry when it feels like the water sucks you under," explains Peter. "You hit the water with your hands first, break them away and that makes a hole for you.

"The adrenalin that I get from jumping off a board, spinning around and hitting the water at 40mph is definitely what keeps me going.

"But diving can be dangerous and if you haven't got the fear there it means you could be taking it for granted - and that's when accidents happen. Having that fear really makes you concentrate because it does hurt when it goes wrong!"

Peter's safety net is a six-days-a-week training programme that includes intensive weights and conditioning sessions, as well as Pilates and trampolining.

Practice opportunities with synchro partner Tom Daley are scarce so when the two can train together timing really is everything. Thirteen years separate the Great Britain team-mates, but Peter says he's as much a mentee as a mentor in the partnership.

"Tom has had to grow up very quickly with all of the attention that he's had and I think he's dealt with it very well," insists Peter. "He's been strong through the tough times and kept his focus on what he wants to achieve.

"He is dedicated to fulfilling his goals and a lot of kids could learn from his dedication and love for what he does.

"I've always said that although I've got a lot of experience behind me and he can learn a lot from me, I can learn a lot from him. Just because he's younger than me doesn't mean I can't learn things from him as well. It works both ways."

The pair were disappointed to finish seventh in last week's 10m synchronised World Cup competition but Peter says it hasn't dampened his dream of a famous double at London 2012.

"I've taken a lot of confidence out of my performance [in the individual]," says Peter.

"Tom and I didn't perform as well as we would have hoped in the synchro but it was quite nerve- wracking in front of a home crowd; our preparation hadn't been great leading up to it, so we were both a bit nervous and things didn't go to plan.

"But the more I competed in that pool, the more comfortable I got and by the final I was really enjoying it and having the home crowd behind us definitely helped."

Peter has already tasted Olympic glory after winning silver at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, where he partnered Leon Taylor in the 10m synchronised platform.

Unlike Daly, though, you won't find a waxwork of the former Commonwealth champion at Madame Tussauds.

"I don't think I'm going to hold my breath on that one!" he laughs. "I'd rather win more medals - and then maybe who knows?"

Follow Peter on Twitter at @PeterWaterfield and get all of the latest Sky Sports Living for Sport news at @SkySportsLFS and @SkySportsOli