SINGAPORE – A fear of heights is a common phenomenon, with some studies published in the Journal of Neurology saying that roughly one in four people have it.

What is far less common, however, is twisting and somersaulting in mid-air before plunging into a pool of water while carrying that fear. Yet Australian diver Maddison Keeney somehow manages to do just that.

In an interview with The Straits Times, the 29-year-old said: “When I was a kid, I didn’t really do platform (dives). I didn’t like going in planes (either). I don’t like standing backwards on the five-metre (platform) so anything higher than that, I’m like ‘no thanks’.”

She compromised by becoming exclusively a springboard diver at more comfortable heights of one and three metres.

Naturally a sporty kid from a young age, taking part in athletics, basketball and field hockey in school, her mother enrolled her in an after-school beginner diving programme after discovering her affinity for the water.

She said: “We had a pool at home and a pool ring. I liked jumping into the ring, so she thought that (diving) would be a good idea.”

It turned out to be a lot more than that. Keeney is one of Australia’s most decorated divers and her latest silver medal in the mixed 3m synchronised at the World Aquatics Championships (WCH) in Singapore on July 30 adds to her already outstanding medal tally.

She won 11 medals (four gold, three silver, four bronze) in 2019, her “best season ever”.

But in a cruel twist of fate, her tireless training took a toll on her body, ultimately resulting in agonising injuries. Her left knee suffered cartilage damage while her left shoulder had internal impingement and she required surgery in both places, forcing her out of the pool from September 2020 to January 2021.

“My shoulder was sore for a long time (after the surgery). I remember I did a forward entry on (the) three metre. It was scary putting my arm up again because I was...