Jessica
Macaulay
Canada
·
Cliff Diving
Date of birth | 10 November 1992 |
|---|---|
Place of birth | Great Yarmouth, UK |
Age | 33 |
Nationality | Canada |
Career start | 2017 |
Disciplines | Cliff Diving |
With four appearances on the women’s World Series podium, Jessica Macaulay enjoyed her most successful season last year, narrowly missing out on a first-ever win at the penultimate stop in Puglia.
Having competed for Great Britain during her first three seasons, the 29-year-old moved to Montreal early in 2021, where she started training for a successful first season under the Canadian flag.
“The reason why I made the decision is because of what the Canadian federation could offer for my diving career. I’ve never had a facility with a 20m platform, with a coach from my federation that created a programme for my specific needs in order for me to peak at the perfect time for each competition. So, it was basically the energy they’re putting into my career that made me want to switch.”
Born in England, Macaulay moved to her father’s country of origin, Canada, when she was six weeks old to live there for two years before family life and jobs took her to different areas of the world. From Texas, where she was based until the end of 2020, the 2019 FINA High Diving World Championships bronze medallist moved north across the border to continue her trip towards the top of her high diving game.
“It’s always been my competitive nature that made me push myself to something, same with high diving – it wasn’t the high dive that drew me, it was seeing somebody else doing it, then I had to do it as well,” the nine-time podium finisher explains. “Once I learned a couple of dives then I believed in myself, and I started chasing my dream and started pushing myself to become a high diver.”
In 2018 she came as the surprise package, securing the first podium in only her second appearance. In the same competition she broke the record for the highest scoring women’s dive until that day. “When I saw Gary Hunt diving, I was so blown away by his talent and his ability to overcome that fear and do that crazy thing that nobody has ever done before,” Macaulay says about her inspiration. “I was also really impressed by all the women getting up there and pushing themselves and I wanted to be one of those strong women who got up on that platform and did things that other people weren’t doing.”
Away from sports, Macaulay is everything but unambitious and lists ‘exploring Machu Picchu in Peru’ and ‘swimming with whales’ as two of her top bucket list items. More recently she ticked one box and created her own business. ‘Empowered Coaching with Jess’ is a tailored health and fitness online coaching business that educates people on how to become a healthier version of yourself while also working on your mindset and loving your body, feeling confident in your body.
“I feel this is my route of being able to support others to believe in themselves and build their confidence. Health and fitness is my way of doing that, because I have this background in sport and I feel really confident with my athletic ability.”
From the little girl who never thought she’d be good enough to dive aesthetically from 10m, the passionate high liner and declared adrenaline junkie matured into one of the World Series’ most watched for divers and a strong contender for the overall win. Missing a first place, this accomplishment stands on top of her sportive to-do list for this season.