Gary Hunt: the cliff diver

How did you get into cliff-diving, Gary?

From my first cliff dive I knew it was the sport for me. I won my first Red Bull World Series title in 2010.

How scary is it on the board, 27m up?

It’s a real test of nerves. In your head you say, ‘Maybe I’ve done enough of these dives,’ but you have to force yourself as you’ll regret it if you don’t.

What can go wrong?

Do the nerves become easier to manage the longer you’ve been doing it?

It’s definitely different to five or six years ago because I’ve got used to the height now. Back when the event started the height varied a bit, but now it’s pretty much dead-on 27m every time. However, there are some dives that I still worry about because they’re pretty difficult and waves can make a difference on the overall distance you’re diving in.

Have you ever been up there and bottled it?

No. I’ve stood there for a long time trying to convince myself to go, but to this day I’ve always chucked myself off in the end.

The closest I came to not diving was in 2012 on the first dive of the season in Corsica. I was so nervous and could hardly stand on the edge of the board my legs were shaking so much. I stepped back, shook my legs out and had another go, only this time I didn’t wait around too long and just went for it.

How is the competition scored?

We do four dives in a tournament, which is spread over a weekend. We do one dive on the first day, two the next, and then the top eight divers go on to the final. To prepare for the dives most of us train off 10m-tall platforms near where we live.

Most dives are from a static start, but you did a running start back in Italy in 2010…

As a kid I watched high diving with my friend Gavin Brown, who was a great diver. He said he wanted to introduce the running take-off into the sport because no one does that from 27m. Unfortunately he was killed in a car accident in 2007, but what he said stuck with me, and as I got better I started working on a running take-off and I tried it for the first time in Italy in 2010. I’m the only person who’s ever done it in the World Series.

Why don’t cliff divers enter the water head first?

When you land feet first, as we all do, the main impact is absorbed through our knees, legs, hips and back and with training we can withstand this impact. However, if you tried to enter head first from 27m, your arms wouldn’t be able to take the impact and would bend, your fingers would probably break as they hit your head and you’d suffer neck and back injuries.

At what speed do you hit the water?

You’re in the air for about three seconds and you land at about 90km/h. Even if you land well, you can feel a massive slap on your feet, but that’s the only safe way to enter the water.

Why do you do it?

It’s a test of what I can do. I’ve always felt I can bring something to the sport and that I was willing to try some things that I hadn’t seen. It’s a thrill, and I want to push myself and see how far I can go.

Have you dived in the UAE?

I did a diving show in Abu Dhabi for a few weeks a couple of years ago. We set up a small swimming pool only 3m deep and 8m wide and then had a big ladder going up to 25m. Shows like this are one of the few ways young divers can try out anything above 10m. It was fun!

Finally, would you try to break the high diving world record for a million dollars?

The world record is around 50m, and the guy who did it is well built. I don’t think I have the body type for it and it’s not something that appeals as I’m more interested in what I can fit into a 27m dive.