Meet Kurtis Mathews: Head of Diving at Pymble and Australian Olympian Paris 2024
How did you come to be a diver?
I started diving around the age of 10. My twin sister Jayah and I were attending swimming lessons, when the instructor suggested we should both try diving We joined a club for a few months and were scouted by a coach in the National Talent Identification Development program (NTID) and were offered a position each. It has been 15 years, and I am still on the boards.
You obviously have no fear of heights – can you describe the feelings you experience on the board before diving?
For me, diving is an abstract artform, where the aim is to capture beauty, through graceful and elegant motions and posture. When I am on the board, I feel a chain of sensations, and calculations. It’s a fine balance between power and grace. For a dive to be beautiful, it must appear to be effortless yet powerful without showing any ruggedness or encumberment of the different motions. I feel a reserved excitement in competition as well as confidence in my training and ability.
What brought you to Pymble?
I was primarily drawn to Pymble by two factors. The first is the boundless pool of talented athletes at Pymble who compete in the many sports we offer. Second is the incredible support offered to athletics programs by the school. As a coach, I feel confident my support network will help me achieve our goals for the program.
Pymble Ladies College diving facilities are without a doubt the best high-school facilities in the country and exceedingly capable of producing Olympic level athletes!
How did it feel to receive your ticket to Paris?
It was only a few weeks ago that the Australian Olympic Committee officially announced the diving team competing in Paris and we received our jumbo plane tickets. This was a special day for me as Paris will be my first Olympic Games. The team was announced by AOC Deputy Chef de Mission Kaarle McCulloch (Olympic Bronze medallist – London 2012). Kaarle is a close friend so to have her officially announce me to the team was wonderful. I am grateful and appreciative to have shared such a rare moment with her.
I am very lucky that my family is able to fly over to France and to watch me compete. The Park family, my American family from college, are also coming to watch!
The diving team is flying to Southend in England for a pre-camp, to acclimatise and adjust to time zone changes. From Southend we head to the Athlete Village, where we will stay for the entire Games. I’ll continue to train normally, while enjoying some time with all my international friends, and exploring the Village. I don’t compete until 6 August so I have plenty of downtime to relax and watch my teammates, until it is my turn to compete.
I also want to explore Paris a little and see some of the classic tourist stops. However, I am most excited about visiting the burial site of the French philosophers Rene Descartes and Voltaire. Especially Voltaire!
The entire Pymble community will be cheering you on too! Do you have a message for our aspiring Olympians here?
My main message is to have courage and be patient. It took me 15 years to finally reach my Olympic goal. I have had countless injuries, two major surgeries and hundreds of setbacks. I yielded many times, retired from diving once and lost hope. It took thousands of hours of training, over those 15 years to prepare me for my departure and it took courage to try one last time. I’ve been fortunate in my endeavour however, if I had not made Paris 2024, it would not subtract from the experience and skills I developed along the way. This journey has made me, for better or worse, who I am.
