AFL players aren’t traditionally known for taking dives, but Jack Steele and Jake Barrett have been practicing their techniques - In the water that is.
The GIANTS midfielders were lucky enough to get a splash-course from Australian diver Melissa Wu at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre this week.
Wu - a silver medalist at the Beijing Olympics and self-confessed mad GIANTS fan - offered advice on diving technique, timing and routine.
While the GIANTS duo excelled in some of the more basic areas of the sport, they flopped when asked to perform their own diving routine. Literally.
After some initial practice, Barrett worked his way up to a double backflip from the 1m spring board which left him both red-faced and red-backed.
Steele wasn’t much better, excelling in the synchronised standard dive but falling well short of nailing his trademark double front-flip.
“It was a great experience to get some advice from one of the world’s best but I think we’ll both stick to footy,” Steele said.
“We were diving from the 1m board and that was pretty intimidating with the camera on us so it’s pretty incredible what Melissa can do from the 10m.
“We’ll be following Mel closely with the Olympics this year and wish her all the best for her events.”
Wu is leaving next week for the Diving World Cup in Rio De Janeiro before competing at the Rio Olympics in August.
The players presented her with a GIANTS towel to hopefully bring good luck overseas.
GIANTS Take a Dive
AFL players aren’t traditionally known for taking dives, but Jack Steele and Jake Barrett have been practicing their techniques - In the water that is.