Edinburgh diver Grace Reid has revealed how dry land training sessions in her parents’ garden in the capital last summer kept her on track during the pandemic and helped her push on to secure a place at a second Olympics.
On Wednesday, 25-year-old Reid was named in the 12-strong Great Britain diving team that will travel to Tokyo for the showpiece event which takes place between July 23 and August 8.
Reid, who was previously involved in Rio 2016, will be competing in the women’s 3m springboard event and the women’s 3m synchro event in Japan, the latter with Katherine Torrance.
And there was double delight for Edinburgh with the news that Reid’s childhood friend and former training partner James Heatly, 24, had been selected for his first Olympics to compete in the men’s 3m springboard event.
Reid, who grew up in the capital and now lives in London where she trains with Dive London, admits that she had to get a bit creative for parts of last year when lockdowns were ongoing and she could not get into the water.
“I was back at home in Edinburgh at my parents’ house and I borrowed some gym equipment from my old school [George Watson’s College],” the women’s 1m springboard champion from the Commonwealth Games in 2018 explains.
“I had some crash mats on the flat part of the garden and would basically just somersault onto the crash mats, but obviously it didn't go perfectly every time.
“There were a few instances where I did end up in bushes, but it was well worth it because I had to stay fit when we could not get in the water and train.
“Fortunately, no injuries came after clashes with the bushes and I actually think fitness-wise I am probably in the best shape I've ever been in because of the lockdowns.
“I think just doing a different type of training helped and I was able to focus on other parts of fitness and work on some things while we were out of the water.
“Around the time when the Olympics were due to start last year [before they were postponed a year] I was still training in the garden up in Edinburgh before heading back to London to restart things.”
Having recently competed in the FINA Diving World Cup in Tokyo and then the European Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Reid had little time to rest before finishing off her university year.
She is studying remotely at the University of Edinburgh for a degree in sports science and straight after returning from the latter event it was straight into exam mode for her.
“I had three exams in the days after I got back from Budapest, don’t ask me how they went, but at least they are finished,” Reid, who first hit the big time when just 14 at the Commonwealth Games in 2010, states.
“I still have around two full years to go so as long as I graduate by the time I am 30 then all good!
“For just now my full focus is on diving and thinking back to Rio in 2016 I don't even think I'm the same person, so much has happened and I am more experienced as a person and as a diver.
“I'm going into Tokyo with a lot more knowledge about myself and about my diving and that's really, really exciting, so I'm hoping to build on the experience from Rio.
“Now I meditate every morning and sometimes at night too and it just helps me with that ‘work life’ balance sometimes and helps me switch off.
“When I'm at the pool, my mind can sort of be on overdrive and going 100 miles a minute and that's not really a great headspace for diving, so meditation really helps me to stay grounded and come back to the present and be able to focus on the task at hand.”
As mentioned, Reid and Heatly grew up together, being one year apart at George Watson’s and training together with coach Jen Leeming at the Edinburgh Diving Club based out of the Royal Commonwealth Pool until the former headed south in 2017.
And, as a result, Reid is excited to be able to share the Olympic experience with her good pal.
“It is so exciting, James and myself have trained alongside each other for so long and we've just got the most amazing friendship,” she said.
“It's super exciting to get to share this summer with him, the whole team is just so strong and James is a huge part of that.”
Reid’s events are spread across July 25, July 30, July 31 and August 1.
