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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. ...

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Background

Taylor was born and educated in Cheltenham 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 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 in Athens, he won the Silver medal in the men's synchronised 10-metre platform, with partner Peter Waterfield. 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 * Jan ...

. 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 ...

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 s ...

), 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 swimming complex in

Sheffield Sheffield is a 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 historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

. 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, 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) in Business and Finance from Sheffield Hallam University. 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 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 in Rio and for the

2017 World Aquatics Championships The 17th FINA World Championships ( hu, 2017-es úszó-világbajnokság) were held in Budapest, Hungary from 14 to 30 July 2017.

. 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 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 account

TEDx 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