Georgia Sheehan’s Redemption as Diving’s Next Gen Shine
World Championship spots were secured on the weekend as the Diving Australian Open wrapped up. HER WAY was there.
Just over 12 months on since dramatically missing out on a Paris Olympics spot by the barest of margins, Georgia Sheehan had her redemption on Sunday afternoon as she claimed the 3m Springboard National title ahead of Olympians Brittany O’Brien and Alysha Koloi.
While two spots are open for each discipline, only one was on offer in the 3m final, with reigning Olympic silver medalist Maddi Keeney guaranteed one of those spots while she sat on the sidelines recovering from a broken finger.
Georgia made headlines last year after penning an article about the heartbreak of not making the Olympic team - it was a story which resonated with many athletes and the public in general, as she articulated processing not achieving her goal.
“I was a little bit worried how it was going to be perceived the wrong way, it was going to be a little bit “poor me”, so I’m really happy that it resonated with so many athletes. I know I’m not the only one who has been through an experience like that - the amount of DMs and messages I got from people and outpouring of love was so special”, Georgia told HER WAY.
Georgia eased her way into the 3m competition, cruising through the Prelims before being the top qualifier for the final. Despite missing Keeney, the final was a strong field - Brittany O’Brien is a 2016 Olympian and Commonwealth Games medalist, while Paris Olympian Alysha Koloi has medaled this year with Keeney at World Cups in the 3m Synchro. Also in the final was Natalie Phan, who claimed the 1m title earlier in the meet.
The 26 year old, diving last in the final, started strongly with a dive full of 7.5 and 8 scores, and then produced four more consistent dives to stay on top, although she admitted to nearly falling off the board before her final dive before producing a solid scoring dive to win by almost 50 points ahead of O’Brien.
After claiming the title, there were lots of embraces for Georgia from both coaches and competitors alike. Following the disappointment of missing Paris, Sheehan told HER WAY this victory was special.
“This one was a very important one to me. To come back and re-qualify just one year later [after missing Paris] for the Worlds team in that second spot was a really special moment. There’s been a lot of work behind the scenes to get there, I guess psychologically, and to do that with my team and coaches backing me was really special.”
Georgia shared how the events of 2024 provided her an opportunity which she was determined to take:
“I think those experiences are kind of something that either make you or break you, and for me hopefully it’s a thing that’s going to make me, but I’m feeling more motivated than ever.”
HER WAY caught up with the other member of the 3m World Champs team - Maddi Keeney - to track how she’s going after missing the Nationals to recover from a broken finger:
“Hopefully I’ll be back doing my dives maybe next week or the week after. I’m just focussing on my fitness. It’s a good opportunity for me to kind of do the basics and work on the foundations a bit.”
Elsewhere, the future of Australian Diving looks to be in good hands, with the 10m Platform event dominated by teenagers. After finishing second to the legendary Melissa Wu last year, teenager Ellie Cole won her first Senior National title over the weekend, with Maggie Grey, the 14 year old who is the reigning Junior World Champion, sharing silver.
For Maggie, this was her first major event at a senior level, having the chance to compete with and against some of her idols in the sport, telling HER WAY, “ It’s quite a surreal experience, but I’m just happy to be here.”
On top of her win in the Platform final, Ellie Cole made it double gold by winning the Synchro event with Milly Puckeridge. HER WAY caught up with Cole afterwards:
“I’m really proud of how consistent I was throughout this competition - I think I’ve really improved in that area. I tried to just go out and enjoy it, and it was fun.”
Ellie, who has a big rest of 2025 with World Champs before heading to Stanford University to take up a scholarship, shared that her performance across the week was a big confidence boost:
“It’s shown me that I am here and I can do it. It’s made me believe in me a little bit more.”
The World Aquatic Championships take place in Singapore later next month.
