NSWIS divers chasing more than medals: Chava Sobrino

The New South Wales Institute of Sport will be represented by six athletes in the 10 diver-strong Australian team at the World Aquatic Championships starting in Fukuoka, Japan tomorrow.

According to Chava Sobrino, Diving Australia’s Head Coach and Head coach of the NSWIS Diving program – Brittany O’Brien, Sam Fricker, Nikita Hains, Lauren Flint, Milly Puckeridge, and Rhiannan Iffland – will be competing for more than medals.

NSWIS: Chava, what should we be expecting from NSWIS’s six divers who have been selected for the Australian team competing at the World Aquatic Championships in Fukuoka, Japan?

CS: We have a bit of a mix because we have the three Olympians in Sam Fricker, Nikita Hains and Brittany O’Brien, who competed at the Olympics in the platform but is now competing on the springboard, and the young ones. For the other two girls, Lauren Flint and Milly Puckeridge, this will be their first experience in a senior international meet – which is very exciting. It’s good to have a mix like that because you have the senior athletes, the experienced divers, able to talk to the younger ones, which is good. [NSWIS also has] Rhiannon Iffland – the cliff diver – and while she offers a lot of wonderful experience, her event [the 20m high dive] is held at a different venue.

NSWIS: What are your expectations for the way in which the senior divers interact with the younger ones?

CS: For the younger divers going to the venue and seeing they’re competing against the whole world could be a confronting situation for them. It could be a stressful situation, and if that’s the case I’d like our senior divers to be mentors and give them little pointers and to share their insights. The squad are all very good friends and I’d expect them to step it up and help out as much as they can.

 NSWIS: Performance wise, what do you expect from the NSWIS divers in the Aussie team?

CS: First and foremost, I expect them to get quota spots for Australia at next year’s Paris Olympic Games. If a diver makes the individual finals, they’ll go – they’ll qualify for the Olympics. However, in the synchro you need to medal. If Nikita Hines puts together the same kind of performance she did at the Nationals, I think she could finish in the top six or eight. For Brittany O’Brien, she has enough experience now in the springboard to finish in the top eight, but I’d like to see her in the top six. Brittany and Georgia Sheehan (Qld) could possibly medal in the synchro.

NSWIS: How proud are you of the NSWIS divers who made the Australian team.

CS: I’m very proud, especially to have young kids stepping it up. It’s very refreshing . . . encouraging . . . for us as a program. There was a few other [NSWIS divers] in nationals that shone, and we expect them to give [the established divers] trouble in the near future; at the next nationals when they trial for the second world championships in Doha later this year. That world championship will be terribly, terribly hard, and very stressful because that’s where the last Olympic spots are up for grabs. And those young ones, I would like them to be competitive by then.

NSWIS: Melissa Wu, a two-time Olympic medallist, has missed this world championships due to injury to her synchro partner. How is her quest to go to a fifth Olympic campaign looking?

CS: Mel has a lot of experience, she’s just waiting and waiting because her synchro partner Charli Petrov, has injuries in her back . . . a couple of stress fractures . . .  so, it’s just a bit of time. Once she’s ready, she’s ready . . . but Mel is still training at full steam and she’s looking very good.

 NSWIS: Chava, what should we be expecting from NSWIS’s six divers who have been selected for the Australian team competing at the World Aquatic Championships in Fukuoka, Japan?

CS: We have a bit of a mix because we have the three Olympians in Sam Fricker, Nikkita Hains and Brittany O’Brien, who competed at the Olympics in the platform but is now competing on the springboard, and the young ones. The other two girls, Lauren Flint and Milly Puckeridge, this will be their first experience in a senior international meet – which is very exciting. It’s good to have a mix like that because you have the senior athletes, the experienced divers, able to talk to the younger ones, which is good. [NSWIS also has] Rhiannon Iffland – the cliff diver – and while she offers a lot of wonderful experience, her event [the 20m high dive] is held at a different venue.

NSWIS: What are your expectations for the way in which the senior divers interact with the younger ones?

CS: For the younger divers going to the venue and seeing they’re competing against the whole world could be a confronting situation for them. It could be a stressful situation, and if that’s the case I’d like for our senior divers to be mentors and give them little pointers and to share their insights. The squad are all very good friends and I’d expect them to step it up and help as much as they can.

 NSWIS: Performance wise, what do you expect from the NSWIS divers in the Aussie team?

CS: First and foremost, I expect them to get quota spots for Australia at next year’s Paris Olympic Games. If a diver makes the individual finals, they’ll go – they’ll qualify for the Olympics. However, in the synchro you need to medal. If Nikkita Hines puts together the same kind of performance she did at the Nationals, I think she could finish in the top six or eight. For Brittany O’Brien, she has enough experience now in the springboard to finish in the top eight, but I’d like to see her in the top six. Brittany and Georgia Sheehan (Qld) could possibly medal in the synchro.

NSWIS: How proud are you of the NSWIS divers who made the Australian team.

CS: I’m very proud, especially to have young kids stepping it up. It’s very refreshing . . . encouraging . . . for us as a program. There was a few other [NSWIS divers] in nationals that shone, and we expect them to give [the established divers] trouble in the near future; at the next nationals when they trial for the second world championships in Doha later this year. That world championship will be terribly, terribly hard, and very stressful because that’s where the last Olympic spots are up for grabs. And those young ones, I would like them to be competitive by then.

NSWIS: Melissa Wu, a two-time Olympic medallist, has missed this world championships due to injury to her synchro partner. How is her quest to go to a fifth Olympic campaign looking?

CS: Mel has a lot of experience, she’s just waiting and waiting because her synchro partner Charli Petrov, has injuries in the back . . . a couple of stress fractures . . .  so, it’s just a bit of time. Once she’s ready, she’s ready, but Mel is still training at full steam and she’s looking very good.

Interview conducted by Daniel Lane, NSWIS

Photograph, Patrick McGregor (NSWIS)