Knight-Wisdom seeks perfection in final Games

PARIS, France

Determined to leave nothing back, diver Yona Knight-Wisdom hopes his final Olympic Games will be a memorable one as he competes in the three-metre springboard preliminary round tomorrow morning at 3 a.m. Jamaica time at the Centre Aquatique.

Knight-Wisdom who has represented Jamaica since 2012 will be making his third straight Olympic appearance, his last before retirement with the same high standards that he has set for himself throughout his career.

“My standards haven’t dropped. I take this very seriously. I want to do well for no other reason than for myself. I am very rarely satisfied with my performances so if I can come out of this satisfied then that is a win. I don’t want to feel unsatisfied in my performance,” Knight-Wisdom told The Gleaner.

Knight-Wisdom has experienced the valleys and pitfalls of his more-than-decade-long career in the sport highlighted by three Olympic qualifications, as well as a Pan American Games silver in 2019.

The demands have taken a toll and this season, Knight Wisdom said while he feels good physically, he has had to be more strategic in how he trained given his age.

“I’m 29 years old now so every session is a little bit more difficult and I have to be more careful with what I do. I am not just as free to go about my training as I used to. I have to be a bit more cautious and calculating with what I do. I have to be more meticulous in my warm-ups, whereas before I could come to training and get on with it,” Knight-Wisdom said. “I don’t get many reps in, I don’t get as many good ones at times. Everything is actually in a good place. Everything feels where it should be. As long as my body is not hurting then that is good.”

While he is looking forward to continue elevating diving in Jamaica in a different capacity, he continues to not accept anything less than perfection when he competes for the final time.

“I am really pushing hard to make sure that I do everything correctly. But at the same time I am definitely trying to enjoy myself as much as possible,” Knight-Wisdom said.