Emily Martin credits diving partner Robyn Birch following year of success
BySportsbeat
Updated 20/03/2024 at 13:24 GMT
Emily Martin is thanking her diving team-mate Robyn Birch after their partnership led them to international success in 2022. "Communication is a big part in any sport but especially when you're doing synchro with someone," she said. "Robyn and I have become best friends over the past few years so when you're close, it makes things a lot easier in training."
Bronze medalists, Robyn Birch and Emily Martin of Team England pose with their medals during the medal ceremony for the Women's Synchronised 10m Platform Final on day nine of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games at Sandwell Aquatics Centre on August 06
Image credit: Getty Images
Southampton diving ace Emily Martin credited her inseparable bond with synchro partner Robyn Birch as the reason behind their international success.
Martin, 22, and Birch, 29, won bronze in the women's 10m platform synchro event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last summer, clinching third behind English team-mates Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Eden Cheng.
And being best mates away from the diving pool has been fundamental in ensuring a podium position for Martin, who made her debut as part of British Diving in 2017 and went on to achieve a fifth-placed finish in the women's individual 10m platform at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest.
"Communication is a big part in any sport but especially when you're doing synchro with someone," she said. "Robyn and I have become best friends over the past few years so when you're close, it makes things a lot easier in training.
"We don't even have to think about it, it just happens.
"I think that's the case with all my synchro partners in the past as well, once you are friends, it just syncs up on the board, which is what makes it.
"Because of that, my biggest achievement to date is probably my bronze medal from the Commonwealth Games last year with Robyn.
"It was also probably my most fun experience because it was a whole Games with lots of other different sports.
"I mean every trip is fun. It's not just about being stood on the podium but also seeing your diving family.
"I just love meeting new people, travelling the world and making new experiences."
SportsAid Week 2023 is an annual initiative launched in 2016, with this year's event taking place from Monday 6 March to Sunday 12 March.
This year's theme focuses on Accessibility and Inclusion as the charity shines a spotlight on the country's most talented young athletes and celebrates the incredible work being undertaken by its partners to support the future of British sport.
Martin is one of 1,000 athletes who receives support from SportsAid to help fund their sporting career.
And in a celebration of SportsAid's 10-year partnership with RBC, Martin recently took part in a yoga class with fellow diving extraordinaire and SportsAid alumnus Leon Taylor on #BeAGoodSportsAid Day during SportsAid Week.
She said: "SportsAid made me into the athlete that I am today.
"They don't just support you with the diving side, but also with the sporting side, how to do things like interviews and everything that comes with sporting life.
"And I've received so much support from RBC over my career. I was buddied up with one of the employees called Clyde and he had so much confidence in me.
"He was always checking in and asking how I got on with my competitions. He was one of my biggest supporters really.
"The events that SportsAid and RBC put on just help make you feel more confident and supported.
"That confidence definitely transfers into the diving pool and makes you perform at your best level."
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