Getting to know Jonah Mercieca

Jonah Mercieca is a 17-year-old diver from Victoria, and is an athlete who trains with the Victorian Institute of Sport. He’s already represented Australia as a Junior at the World Junior Diving Championships and the World Aquatics Canada Cup, and will be heading to Singapore in late July to compete at the World Aquatic Championships in Singapore.

Congratulations on making the squad for the Singapore World Championships, what does it mean to represent the country at such a young age?

It means a lot to me, I’ll be the second youngest on the team. Although diving is a sport where there are a lot of younger athletes coming through, it does mean quite a lot to be up against some of the best in the world who I’ve looked up to over the years. And now to be diving alongside them it will be very cool.

You’ve recently come back from competing in Canada, so you’ve had quite a bit of international experience already this year, how was that for you?

It was really good. I’ve been on a few trips earlier this year, but definitely that second time in Canada was a really good eye-opener of where I do stand against a lot of those other athletes. Canada took their top team with them, and it really just gave us an experience of what other countries also offer.

As well as being a VIS diver, a professional athlete, you’re also at school, you’re only 17. How do you balance life, school, training, all of those things? And do you think it’s helped being around other team members and learn how to balance all of those things?

Yeah, 100%. The main thing I’m doing at the moment is just taking it day by day. Yes, I might have a competition or a SAC in a few weeks time, but I can’t worry about that at the moment because I still have class work due tomorrow or a certain program to do that night. Really just taking it day by day. [I’m] also just learning from all the older athletes because the majority of them have all ended up in the very same situation where they too were juggling school, so definitely listening to their experiences helps a lot because they just have all that knowledge and know what can and can’t work.

You compete in the 10 metre platform, and the 3 metre springboard. Do you have a favourite or a preference that you like the best?

Probably ten metre. In terms of competitions, three metres is always scary, because there’s a lot that can go wrong in that hurdle. And with ten metre, if I can get that same take off every time, I know that the dive will be a lot more consistent. And it’s also just a lot more fun to compete as well. You get a little more thrill seeking from all the adrenaline and everything that goes on during the dive.

Do you have a favourite dive from the platform?

Probably a reverse three and a half from the ten metre up the top. So it’s a lot of dive in not much time, but it’s really good fun.

You get to train here at these incredible facilities at MSAC, with so many diving facilities. You’ve got dry diving, and heaps of diveboards to practice on, what’s the best part about getting to use these world class facilities?

This pool in particular – there’s nothing wrong with it, all the boards are amazing, the platforms are amazing. They’re wide enough, which is a problem that some pools happen to have. Where if you go to do synchro, your hands might touch, you might be a bit close. Whereas here, it’s wide enough, you’ve got plenty of space. The spotting is also really good. The spotting is one thing which a lot of divers find is really helpful. It’s like when you’re in the air, go to make sure you know what’s up and what’s down, what’s the board and what’s not. Here in particular at MSAC it’s a proper world class facility, it’s one of my favorite pools I’ve been to.

We know you have a passion for photography outside of diving. Is that something that inspires you and gets your brain off training and school as well as outside of being an athlete?

When I’m at home in Melbourne, I often go out with my camera to just take photos of trains or any sort of transit, and just that experience of getting out the house really just takes my mind off diving. Then one thing I’ve picked up recently at competitions is taking diving photos while we’re away so when we’re in the off time, sitting in the grandstand anyway cheering on, it’s something to keep my mind off the comp and everyone loves it.

For more information on diving at MSAC, head to Diving Victoria’s website here.