Even with a fear of heights, there is an athlete who climbed the 10m diving platform and performed his 'life acting'.
This is the story of Sebastian Villa Castaneda (29) of Colombia who participated in the 10m diving platform event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
According to 'MyInfo', the official information site for the tournament today (7th), Castaneda learned gymnastics and swimming as a child, and started diving at the age of 8 at the age of Korean age at the recommendation of a coach at the time.
However, as soon as he started diving, he ran into a real challenge.
I used to have severe phobias of heights.
Diving is a near-impossible sport for people with a fear of heights, as it basically requires no fear of heights.
In particular, the 10m diving platform is known for its height at which humans feel the most fear.
But for the past 20 years, Castaneda has been pushing the limits by constantly throwing herself on the board.
Although he still suffers from a phobia of heights in his daily life, his passion for diving made him 'superhuman'.
Castaneda said, "When I visited Canada to participate in the North American Championships six years ago, the floor of the CN Tower (a high-rise building with a height of 553.33m) was made of clear glass, but after looking down, I couldn't even cross the floor. He said, "But it's different as in a swimming pool. I don't think about height at all."
He competed in the Olympics three times in a row, starting in London 2012 and ending in Tokyo, and placed 18th in the semifinals of the 10m platform.
Although he failed to advance to the final, where the top 12 players compete, he achieved his best performance at the Olympic Games, only staying in the top 20, including 22nd in London and 25th in Rio de Janeiro.
Castaneda plans to make her final challenge at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games three years later.
"It's not easy being 10 meters high, but I really love my sport," he said.
(Photo = AP, Yonhap News)