SINGAPORE – Ahead of the 2025 season, British diver Jack Laugher sought inspiration far from the pool – some 5,895 metres above sea level on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Together with teammate Noah Williams, Laugher climbed Africa’s highest mountain in October 2024, two months after the Paris Olympics, where they both finished on the podium.

In Paris, Laugher claimed the men’s 3m synchronised springboard bronze alongside Anthony Harding, while Williams earned a silver and a bronze in the men’s 10m synchronised and 10m platform events respectively.

Laugher may be used to throwing himself off platforms and springboards while executing twists and tucks mid-air, but this five-day trek up Kilimanjaro posed a very different challenge for him.

He said: “Going up Kilimanjaro for me and Noah was to test ourselves in something other than diving.

“We’re so wrapped up in this little bubble of diving – I’ve never had a proper job, I’ve never really pushed myself in anything else because I’ve been so protected around my sport.

“So being able to go out and do something completely different really adds a lot to me, brings a lot of confidence in myself, knowing that I can do things that aren’t just in this sport.”

In addition to that, he also raised money for The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention non-profit organisation for young lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people.

The Kilimanjaro challenge appears to have worked well for him.

In 2025, Laugher has already picked up a bronze and a silver in the World Aquatics Diving World Cup series, along with a bronze in the men’s 3m synchronised at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore with Harding.

His campaign in the Republic, however, ended on July 31 in disappointment. He finished 26th in the men’s 3m springboard preliminary round w...