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Leon Taylor (born 2 November 1977) is a former British competitive
diver. During his diving career he won medals at all major international events including a silver at the Athens Olympics. Following his retirement from competition, Taylor transitioned to a portfolio of projects. He now speaks about mental wellness, supports the
SportsAid
SportsAid is a UK charity that helps British athletes, typically 12-18 whose parents are their only other means of support. The charity helps these athletes by giving them cash awards to help them meet the cost of training and competing.
Overview
...
charity, teaches yoga and mental wellness, works for an executive performance business and commentates for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
Background
Taylor was born and educated in
Cheltenham
Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
where he attended
Bournside School.
He was hyperactive as a child and his parents were advised to channel his energies and enthusiasm into sport. He was a swimmer and gymnast from the age of two and took up competitive
diving
Diving most often refers to:
* Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water
* Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes
Diving or Dive may also refer to:
Sports
* Dive (American football), a ...
when he was eight. By the age of 11 he was a national champion. He trained at Cheltenham Leisure Centre under Dave Turner and then Ian Barr until 1996.
Diving career
Taylor represented Great Britain at three
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
and was a member of the Great Britain team for 16 years winning medals at all major international championships.
In the
diving events at the
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
in Athens, he won the
Silver medal
A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...
in the men's synchronised 10-metre platform, with partner
Peter Waterfield
Peter Graham Waterfield (born 12 March 1981) is a British diver and Olympic silver medalist.
Diving career
Waterfield's specialism is the 10-metre platform event, both as solo competitor and in the synchronised event with his former partner ...
. It was Britain's first Olympic diving medal since
Brian Phelps in
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Ja ...
. He had come fourth in the same competition in the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
in Sydney.
Other achievements include Silver in the men's 10 m platform at the
2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...
(he had won Bronze in
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
), and Bronze in the 10 m synchro at the
1999 European Aquatics Championships
The European Long Course Championships 1999 were a swimming competition held in Istanbul, Turkey from Monday 26 July to Sunday 1 August, in the 50 m pool of the Ataköy Olympic Pool Stadium. The 24th edition of the event was organised by the ...
. At a national level, Taylor held both the 10 m platform and 10 m synchro titles from 1994 to 2006.
He trained with other members of the British team in the
Ponds Forge
Ponds Forge International Sports Centre is a leisure complex in Sheffield, England, that contains an Olympic-sized swimming pool with seating for 2,600 spectators, family and children's pools (50 m Competition pool and 25 m diving p ...
swimming complex in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
.
In 1998 Leon invented the ''5255b''; a back 2.5 somersaults, 2.5 twists which at the time was the World's most difficult dive with a tariff of 3.8. Following a rule change in 2009, the dive now carries a tariff of 3.6.
Retirement and post-competitive career
Although Taylor had been planning to compete at the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
, he announced his retirement from competition in May of that year following a number of injuries.
Between 2006 – 2008, he completed an HNC (
Higher National Certificate A Higher National Certificate (HNC), part of the Higher Nationals suite of qualifications, is a higher education/further education qualification in the United Kingdom.
Overview
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the HNC is a BTEC qualificatio ...
) in Business and Finance from
Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield railway station, while the Collegiate Cr ...
.
Taylor now works as a public speaker, presenter, conference host, BBC commentator and mentor to members of the British team.
In 2010 Taylor published a book on the subject of
mentoring
Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...
: MENTOR - The most important role you were ''never'' trained for. This work built on his experience of mentoring many athletes, most notably Olympic medalist
Tom Daley
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
.
In January 2013, Taylor was named as a judge on the
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
celebrity diving show ''
Splash!''. He returned to judge on the show in its
second series, airing in 2014. Taylor had planned, and booked, a once-in-a-lifetime trip to New Zealand with his girlfriend when 'Splash' came about instead.
In 2016 Taylor was part of the BBC commentary team for the diving events at the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
in Rio and for the
.
In 2018, Taylor spoke at the TEDx Clapham event on the subject of managing prolonged mental stress with the aid of physical movement. He has followed this with a series of videos on the subject of stress.
In March 2020, Taylor led a series of exercise routines for the
Headspace
Headspace may refer to:
*Headspace (company), an online healthcare company specializing in meditation
*Headspace (organisation), an Australian non-profit organization for youth mental health
*Headspace or ullage, the unfilled space in a container
...
mobile app.
Taylor's sporting career became the basis of a children's story novel, ''Leon's Magic Mantra'', authored by Sarah Griffiths, who wrote it in collaboration with Taylor by video call during the
Covid pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...
. It was launched in June 2022.
[Report by Ollie Westbury of book launch in Telford, Shropshire.]
Bibliography
*
References
External links
*
Official Twitter accountTEDx talk - How to manage your mental health
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Leon
1977 births
Living people
English male divers
Divers at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Divers at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Divers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
Divers at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
Divers at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Alumni of Sheffield Hallam University
Olympic divers of Great Britain
Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England
Sportspeople from Sheffield
Olympic medalists in diving
Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics
World Aquatics Championships medalists in diving
Commonwealth Games medallists in diving
Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games