It is a feat of competition diving so difficult it was once thought impossible – but yesterday two British sportsmen pulled off the manoeuvre dubbed The Big Front.
Teenage star Tom Daley and his Olympic partner Pete Waterfield completed four-and-a-half somersaults in under two seconds – the blink of an eye it takes to hit the water from the 10-metre board. And what’s more, they did it synchronised in tandem.
Even to sports fans whose appreciation of diving is limited to comedian Peter Kay’s famous ‘top bombing’ advert, the precision timing and nerves of steel the somersaults demand are impressive.
Running jump: Tom Daley and Peter Waterfield need to get a good lift for their first somersault
Going: The pair are competing in the Mens 10m Synchro Final at the British Gas National Cup 2011
In just 1.93 seconds, 16-year-old Daley and Waterfield, 29, had to rotate their bodies at speeds of 60mph, while hurtling towards the water at 30mph.
It is therefore little wonder that no British diver had previously achieved the feat in competition. Now the pair believe the difficult dive will give them the edge at next year’s London Olympics. ‘It was scary,’ Daley admitted afterwards. ‘For some time I didn’t want to do it but to get on to the podium in London I knew I had to.
‘There were times in the past when I almost walked away from it. I haven’t been strong enough to incorporate the dives that can get the highest marks. But now I’m beginning to use them in competition.
‘The Big Front is technically and physically very hard. You need to get your timing right at the start because everything happens so fast. I feel very relieved to have done it.
In synch: The duo's split-second moves have to be in perfect tandem
The wow factor: Midway through their impressive dive
Nearly there: The last half-somersault as they prepare to enter the water
‘It’s gone better in training but that’s not in competition, it’s not in front of an audience and the nerves aren’t there.
‘The London Olympics have been my goal since 2005 when it won the Games bid. I was 11 and it seemed a big dream.’
Waterfield, Britain’s most experienced diver, admitted his younger partner has pushed him into new territory.
‘When you’re young like Tom, you’re fearless, you just want to get up there and hurl yourself off, but the older you get the more you realise the dangers,’ he said. ‘When a new dive comes along it wows everyone. It pushed me, but the main point is we pulled it off.’
And he admitted: ‘Just because I’m nearly twice his age doesn’t mean Tom can’t teach me things.’
After the historic dive at the British Gas National Cup, Daley’s proud father Tom said: ‘It’s a massive step by Tom. It’s only recently that he got over the psychological barrier you need to perform it.’
The pair took gold at yesterday’s event at the Southend Swimming and Diving Centre in Essex – and both will again attempt the Big Front in today’s individual dives.
But their sporting first is a significant step towards their Olympic goals, as neither reigning solo champion Matthew Mitcham, from Australia, nor the formidable Chinese synchronised diving team will attempt the Big Front at the 2012 Games. As Daley says: ‘We could be dangerous.’
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