Diver Lizzie Roussel’s journey to her record second Olympics is inspirational. The young mum talked to Neil Reid about motherhood and elite sport, making history and conquering her fears.
Lizzie Roussel won’t lack support when she takes to the 3m diving board at the Olympic Aquatics Centre.
Among the 6000 cheering on competitors will be her 2-year-old daughter, Athena Olympia Jean Roussel.
The gorgeous wee girl’s first two names have strong Olympic themes.
Being an Olympian means the world to the 26-year-old American-based diver, who will make history in Paris when she becomes the first Kiwi diver to compete in two Olympics.
But for Olympia Jean’s unexpected conception, it could have been her third Games; with her and her husband Ryan’s daughter being conceived while training for the Covid-19 delayed Tokyo Olympics.
“[The name] was a tribute to her and the time of life that I was in and to tell her that I decided to have her and raise her . . . that she meant more to me than the Olympics,” Roussel told the Herald from her base in the US.
“It is a special story to tell her. And now that she gets to come with me it just makes it even more special.”
Roussel qualified for the Tokyo Olympics – which were meant to be held in 2020 – after winning the 3m springboard category at the 2019 Oceania Championships.
Tokyo was set to be her second Games appearance, after debuting at the 2016 Rio Games.
In the run-up to the Tokyo, Roussel was “really peaking in performance and my abilities”.
The Tokyo Olympics were ultimately delayed a year due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. While the announcement of the delay was of little surprise to many athletes, Roussel’s confirmation she was pregnant was the last thing she’d planned for.
“I heard the news and you can imagine my reaction . . . pretty shocked,” she said.
“I had this plan of what the next few years of my life was going to look like and that all changed in an instant.
“But I feel like I navigated it quite well and I had a big support system. And I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way . . . now I can go to the Olympics and have my little girl there too.”
Athena Olympia will travel to Paris with her father and members of both of her parents’ families.
The women’s 3m springboard diving competition is set to run between August 7-9, during which time Roussel will be staying in the official Athletes’ Village.
Post-competition, she will spend the remainder of the Games catching up with those who mean the most to her.
“Obviously I am going to see my girl before I compete because I am going to miss her a lot,” she said. “And after I am done competing, I will go and join them.”
Life had been “pretty hectic” since her place in the New Zealand team for Paris 2024 was confirmed in early July.
While she had qualified after again winning the Oceania Championships, she said “you never feel quite secure” in making the team until her name was read out.
Learning that she would become New Zealand’s most experienced Olympic diver was “extra special”, she said.
“I will be in the history books for diving and paving the way for more success in the sport.”
Roussel’s Olympic odyssey continues a 17-year love – albeit reluctantly at times to begin with – of diving.
Born in Auckland, she started competing at age nine.
Her abilities were such that she was awarded a diving scholarship to Louisiana State University in her late teens.
And her chosen sport is not for the faint-hearted.
Research by British physicist Helen Czerski states divers from a 3m springboard will travel at about 10m per second on the descent to the pool. They will be travelling downwards at speeds of about 33km/h.
Roussel said there was an unmistakable fear factor of going off the 3m board. But the feeling of getting it right was priceless.
“There is nothing quite like conquering a fear, or something you can’t do, or are scared to do,” she said. “I feel that is what diving is about.
“Every dive is quite scary, especially when you are learning them. And the feeling of completing them and doing them well, the feeling is unmatched in anything I do in my life.
“I guess I fell in love with that feeling of performing and pushing myself, doing things that I am scared of, and being able to conquer those fears daily.”
As a kid, coaches used chocolate to encourage her to dive.
She is “still scared” before starting her daily practice routines, which include about 60 dives.
Given the dangers, the environment she operated in always had to be respected.
“There is something that makes me nervous which you would think that I would get used to by now, but I am not,” she said.
“I was always a very cautious kid and think it is a miracle that I am still in this sport and decided to stick to such a scary sport. I was always that kid that would cry on the diving board and didn’t want to go.
“The coaches would have to bribe me with chocolate to dive. But somehow, I stuck through it and here I am today. I am glad I stuck through.”
That persistence now allows her to use the OLY title after her name; the official title the International Olympic Committee allowed Olympians to use.
Roussel said having OLY after her name – including on her social media channels – was a “big symbol” for her of how she achieved her dreams in sport and life in general.
“It is just a lesson that what you dream, you can achieve. That is how I go about my life; I set big goals and I go after them.”
Roussel’s 18th birthday doubled as her debut as an Olympian in the women’s 3m springboard competition at the Rio Olympics.
She finished in 24th spot.
Competing in Rio she became the first Kiwi diver to appear at an Olympics since Tania Paterson took part in the women’s 10m platform category.
She said the path her life had travelled, her build-up to Paris was “not even comparable” to her Olympic debut.
“I really feel in such a better position going in,” Roussel said. “Not just physically, but also mentally, I have a lot of appreciation for the sport and how I compete well.
“I am also more physically strong than I was back then, I am doing harder dives. That is something that still blows my mind because I didn’t think that was going to be possible after having my little girl.
“But the human body is incredible, so here I am.”
Making it to the diving platform at Paris 2024 has required an all-round Olympian effort from Roussel.
Aside from juggling the reality of motherhood, and meeting qualification standards, her campaign has also been largely self-funded.
Like other athletes, including surfer Saffi Vette, who aren’t considered medal contenders, Roussel hasn’t been able to lean on sporting officials to cover the cost of qualifying and preparing for the Games in Paris.
Eight years previously, her parents had helped her realise her dream of getting to Rio; something she would be “forever grateful” to them for.
Making it to Paris wouldn’t have happened without the support of her husband and various sponsors.
“My husband helped a lot of the way; he always said we would just make it work which was very reassuring and gave me the motivation to go for it and train hard,” she said.
“I had some help from the Black and White Golfers Trust and other independent sponsors who have not only helped me financially but have played a very supportive role, not just in diving but in life as well.
“Some of these people are mums as well, and just bonding over being a mum has meant the world to me.”
She said she was blown away by some of the “kindness” of those who had supported her.
Their help would not be forgotten, she stressed.
“Sometimes the world can look really bleak,” Roussel said.
“But I have encountered so many warm and generous people that it is so inspirational. I hope that one day I will be able to give back to somebody else who is in the same situation as me.”
Roussel is adamant she is not going to Paris to make up the numbers in the women’s 3m springboard competition.
She has set her sights on a top-10 finish.
To do that she would have to reach the 12-strong final, something Anton Down-Jenkins achieved – going on to finish eighth – in the men’s 3m springboard at the Tokyo Games.
“He got top eight and that would be ideal and something that I think I am capable of if I put my best foot forward on the day,” she said.
TV footage of elite diving competitions shows competitors close to each other in preparation and warm-down areas.
Some play mental games, Roussel said, but that was something she wouldn’t be sucked into in Paris.
“As soon as my attention is diverted into other people’s competition, then I get sidetracked and lose the whole thing,” she said.
“I usually put music on, focus on my own feels and slow and steady wins the race.”
When she launches herself off the board at the Olympic Aquatics Centre in Paris for the first time she will defy a previous belief her Games experience would be restricted to Rio.
When asked if there could be a third Olympic appearance in the future, Roussel – who will start law school in Louisiana post-Paris, replied: “That is to be determined.
Lizzie Roussel is set to make a splash in Paris 🌿 Selected to the New Zealand Team in the Women’s Diving: 3M Springboard 🖤
— The New Zealand Team (@TheNZTeam) July 2, 2024
@divingnewzealand | #EarnTheFern pic.twitter.com/QnPE2fJ0lB
“There are more kids in mind, so we will have to see if diving is still an option after I have had more kids. I will take one step at a time.”
Despite being based in the US since her late teens, home still means the world to Roussel.
She returns to New Zealand at least once a year.
Each time the Olympian returns, she says she is excited to see numbers growing in the local diving scene.
She took pride in how her achievements were encouraging others.
“I have mums messaging me saying I am an inspiration for their daughter and that really warms my heart,” she said.
“What’s important for me is that I have a lasting impact. I want to see more Olympians and better finishes in the future.”
And as Roussel puts the finishing touches to her Olympic build-up, her own fledgling time in the sport was echoed in advice to young hopefuls.
“I would just say go for it, don’t hold back and don’t quit,” she said.
“Keep going day in, day out. You don’t have to be perfect every day, you just have to show up.”
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience. He travelled to Sydney and Athens to cover the 2000 and 2004 Olympics respectively.
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