Q: How long have you been diving?
A: Six years
Q: What made you want to pick up the sport?
A: After ending my gymnastics career, I wanted to spend my time in another sport. After my first practice I knew I loved diving and so I kept doing it.
Q: How much do you practice on a weekly basis?
A: In season, I practice about 12 hours a week and then 2 hours of lifting. Out of season, I get in the pool as much as I can and that can vary because of my involvement in track.
Q: What was going through your mind when you first found out you were a state champion?
A: I was overwhelmed with emotions. I was excited, but also sad because it was my last year competing at the high school level.
Q: Was winning a second time not as exciting, just as exciting, or even more rewarding than the first time?
A: They were both very exciting and I honestly didn’t know where I was going to place at the beginning of the meet, but it ended in my favor.
Q: Was there any sort of pressure this year to have to replicate what you did last year?
A: Oh definitely. People just expected me to win everything after my first state title. People would say, “oh so you’re going to win again this year?” this added another level of pressure.
Q: Were there any lessons you learned from your success over the past two years?
A: I learned that I had to be a diligent worker and always focus on my goals.
Q: What are you thinking about when you’re on the board for a dive?
A:I think about everything I need to do to succeed in my dive.
Q: Were there any sacrifices you’ve had to make over the course of your diving career to get to the level you’re at now?
A: I have gotten pretty good at managing my time between school, my sport, and my social life. I’ve definitely had to sacrifice going to dinner with my friends after football games because I had an invitational the next morning or not being able to go out of town because of my diving commitment.
Q: What are some of the most common distractions you encounter on the board and off the board?
A: When people walk behind the board when I’m trying to practice. Just little things like people running around near the board, annoys me.
Q: Do you think diving is more of a physical sport or mental sport?
A: It’s definitely a mental sport in the pool but outside it gets very physical with the lifting. Especially in college, everyone trains together to get as much muscle strength and training as possible.
Q: What is the process of learning a new dive?
A: You are basically told how to do the dive and then you try it! Obviously there are other dives to lead up to the “big” dives so you are very prepared.
Q: Do you have any fears when you first attempt a new dive?
A: Yeah. You always get a little nervous but the worst thing that can happen is that you smack and get a bruise. There are other things that could happen, but we don’t think about those.
Q: What is the most rewarding thing about the sport?
A: After learning a new dive and seeing how far it has come is an amazing feeling.
Q: What makes you want to keep diving?
A: Everything about the sport makes me want to keep going. The urge to keep improving is what keeps me going.
Seth Dalton Moffitt • Nov 18, 2016 at 12:23 pm
Claire Park is an amazing person and diver. Pleasant Valley is truly BLESSED to have her and I know she will have a successful career college diving.
kelsey • Nov 18, 2016 at 9:04 am
great questions! and a big congrats to claire!!