HEATLY James

General
EMULATING HIS GRANDFATHER
He won a bronze medal in the 1m springboard at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia, which was the first Scottish diving medal at the Commonwealth Games since his late grandfather Peter Heatly won gold in the 10m platform at the 1958 Games in Cardiff, Wales. A few months prior to the 2018 Games, in December 2017, he equalled his grandfather's record of 27 Scottish national diving titles. He says watching videos of his grandfather diving revealed how much the sport had changed in 60 years. "The technique [in the 1950s] was so different. In his day the springboard was not much more than a plank with coconut matting. They would hit the water, but never ripped [rip entry]. Now everyone has figured out the completely no-splash entry. The springboard is now a real flexible thing, and conditions are much better." (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Apr 2018; scotsman.com, 11 Apr 2018; pressandjournal.co.uk, 11 Apr 2018; heraldscotland.com, 26 Jun 2015)

MENTAL FOCUS
Speaking in early 2020 he said he had made changes to the mental side of his training which have improved his diving. "In competitions, I've become quite good at only focusing on what I can control - it's the day-in, day-out at training I've been working on. The dives we do can be quite scary and so it's tough to do them every day in training without the adrenaline of competition. Particularly when you're learning something new, say if you're adding a somersault or a twist or something, it messes with what you're used to so it can be quite scary the first few times. But after you've taken a few hits, you know what way is up. I definitely feel like I've taken a step up recently." (glasgowtimes.co.uk, 22 Mar 2020)