How previous setbacks drove Aussie diver Maddison Keeney to achieve her Olympic medal dream at the Paris Games

Australian diver Maddison Keeney had seen the fierce online reactions to her previous performances on the world stage. The negativity was sometimes so intense that the athlete from Brisbane was devastated.

A quick Google search tells the story: ‘Maddison Keeney embarrassing dive’, ‘Dive failure’ and ‘A perfect zero’.

All from keyboard heroes who would probably struggle to fit into a swimsuit if they went diving themselves.

Fortunately, 28-year-old Keeney had the final say in Paris and silenced her doubters with a silver medal.

Keeney competed in the 3-meter springboard and finished behind China’s Chen Yiwen, who at times seems invincible, such is her talent and poise under pressure.

It was Keeney’s 16th medal at world, Olympic and Commonwealth championships, but it meant the most after he missed the postponed 2021 Tokyo Games due to surgery.

“I was very nervous,” she said after the final. “But I’ve worked very intensively with my psych for the past 10 years.”

‘I used to suffer a lot from nerves and was therefore insecure about the outcome. I fell off the scoreboard and often ended up in fourth place.

‘I’ve had a hard time a lot, but all those experiences and falling off the shelf have made me who I am.

“I feel like I was forged in fire.”

Keeney also had a message for the online trolls and for those in society who succumb to pressure: seize the opportunity.

“How do you deal with a final dive with a medal on the line? You’re physically shaking,” she said.

‘Your heart is pounding. Then you get up on the board and it’s a different animal.

‘But for me it’s…life. This is absolutely life. This is what you live for.

‘Exciting is a nice word for it.’