Cliff Diving
We speak with the undisputed star of cliff diving, Rhiannan Iffland, on her most recent win, diving in iconic Sydney and what's next...
Australian cliff diver Rhiannan Iffland has had another successful year in 2022. The six-time Cliff Diving World Series champion went into the last stop of this year’s tour, which was being held in the iconic Sydney Harbour, knowing that she’d secured the King Kahekili trophy once again. Despite that security, however, Rhiannan was determined to put on a show for the last event of 2022 – and she did. The event saw her achieve a personal best, scoring 387.75 points to win the event as well as the series.
There was extra motivation to do so, because for the first time ever, Rhiannan was diving in front of a home crowd as part of the Cliff Diving World Series. It was a day she won’t forget in a hurry – and as she explained, “the energy of the whole event made me feel a little bit invincible, to be honest”. We caught up with Rhiannan following the historic day to chat about her victory, savouring the moment and what she’s aiming for in 2023. Rhiannan’s already looking forward to the future – but for the moment, she’s more than content spending time in the surf and the bush with family and friends.
The whole energy of the whole event made me feel a little bit invincible, to be honest...
The last time we spoke, I asked you about how you’d feel lifting the trophy, and you told me you didn’t want to premeditate things. I wanted to start by asking – how did it feel holding up the King Kahekili trophy in front of the crowd?
It felt like the most special podium ceremony that I've done. One, because of family and friends, and two, because it was a great competition. It was on fire. All the girls were hitting. In that last round, when I was the last diver, I was like, ‘Oh okay, everybody's put down an awesome dive, now it's my turn. I have to do that as well.’ It always comes down to that last dive. The whole energy of the whole event made me feel a little bit invincible, to be honest. It was a really special moment.
Was there a different energy or vibe at the Sydney event compared to other events? What stands out from the day to you?
The standout thing for me was the energy that I felt when I stood on the platform. I remember that before the first dive of day two, the round three dive, I was standing in the back of the tower, and I was getting ready to dive. There was a thought in my head, ‘I'm extremely nervous here, and I'm not sure how this is going to go, even more so than usual competitions’. I was feeling the pressure and feeling the nerves.
That went away once I pushed that curtain open and stood out there and looked at looked at my family and friends, as well as the 1000s of people that roared and cheered. That's one thing that I'll remember, for a long, long time - that energy and the support. That was definitely a standout moment for me.
When it comes to my family and friends, I know that the true ones will love me whether I score a one or a 10...
Where do you think those extra nerves came from? Was it being in front of friends/family and the home crowd, or was it just the occasion?
It was the whole occasion. Starting with the helicopter dive, it was two weeks of a lot of exciting things happening. It’s a bit difficult to stay constantly level-headed when there's so much happening around you. When it comes to my family and friends, I know that the true ones will love me whether I score a one or a 10. I don't think the nerves were coming from there. It was the excitement and the hype of the whole event.
There’s been a lot of Australian coverage of cliff diving before, during and following the event – do you think this was a bit of a turning point in terms of how aware Australians are of cliff diving?
I certainly hope so. I hope we put on a really good show - actually, I know we put on a good show in Sydney, bringing all of the world's best divers to show off in in that location. The main things that people would have seen are how amazing sport is and the places that we go to and the places that we do it. I certainly hope that diving’s more exposed now as a sport and that people fell in love with it. I've had a lot more comments walking down the street from a lot of people, so that's a really cool feeling. I hope we can come back!
What goals did you have in mind heading into the event?
There were a couple of goals in my head, one of which I didn't quite manage to achieve. I wanted to go for 400 points, which I knew wasn't possible after I did my first dive. I also wanted a personal best score, which I ticked off. I wanted to stand on top of that podium, to win the last event and finish strong and put on a good show for the Sydneysiders and the Australians that were there cheering.
Overall, knowing that I had already clinched the title in Italy, my main focus was trying to stay completely level-headed and to enjoy every minute of it. I wanted to eat up the energy [laughs]. On the one hand, I had goals in my head that I was going for competitively, but on the other hand, I was trying to keep a healthy balance between enjoying it and staying calm, taking it all in and performing. I was trying to stay level.
Now that you’re in the offseason, what are you looking forward to most during this period?
It's been a quite a busy week. I just got out of the surf an hour ago with my nephew. Honestly, I think that that's the plan for the next couple of weeks. Enjoy some family time, slow down a little bit. Get back into the activities that I enjoy outside of diving like surfing, snorkelling and hanging around the beach and finding other adventures. Bush riding, bushwalking, anything outdoorsy.
I wanted to ask about the support of Red Bull. How does having the support of Red Bull help you focus on training and competing?
It’s a big help. They’ve been supporting me for six years now, I believe. Financially, it takes the strain off me as I'm always traveling, I'm overseas. They’re there if I need something. They also connected me with my Strength and Conditioning coach many years ago and my Performance coach. They have connections with people that are well established in their areas, which is super nice as well. The biggest thing for me is that no idea for training or for a project is a silly idea. That’s my favorite thing about working with Red Bull. You give them an idea, you speak about it, and it's achievable.
Finally, looking forward to next season and even beyond that, what are you hoping to get out of the 2023 season (apart from returning to defend your title)?
I'm really excited, especially at this very moment in time. I feel like everything is shining at the moment, especially after the last week. In terms of diving, I’m super excited for next season, because I can see a bit of a format change coming. I have a lot of ideas in my head about dives that I would like to start to play around with and experiment with and see what's possible.
I set a goal for myself during the middle of last year, saying that if I achieved this world title then the next step is to see what dives are possible next year, so that'll be cool. Hopefully, there are a couple of new locations are in the mix. I’ll take it take it event by event and see how it goes. That’s what excites me the most.