Commonwealth Games: Diver Anton Down-Jenkins withdraws from New Zealand team

Anton Down-Jenkins in action at the Tokyo Olympics. Photo / Photosport

New Zealand Olympic diver Anton Down-Jenkins has withdrawn from the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

A clear medal hope for New Zealand, he says he made the difficult decision to pull out of the event in order to prioritise his well-being after what has been a difficult period of training.

"This decision is ultimately about me and putting myself and my mental health first so I can continue to succeed in the future," said Down-Jenkins.

"My coach is also based offshore which has made it really hard to train. Unfortunately, I'm not where I want to be with my diving and have decided it's in my best interests to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games."

New Zealand's Commonwealth Games diving team was named less than two weeks ago. Photo / Photosport

Down-Jenkins became the first male diver to compete for New Zealand at the Olympics since 1984 when he took to the pool in Tokyo in 2021. He competed in the individual 3m springboard event, qualifying for the finals where he finished 8th out of 12 divers. Significantly, just one of the seven divers who finished ahead of him was from a Commonwealth nation.

Down-Jenkins is receiving wellbeing support from the New Zealand Team.