Desharne Bent-Ashmeil and Amy Rollinson: The perfect pair

Diving 05 Jul 23

For Amy Rollinson and Desharne Bent-Ashmeil, European Games gold in Krakow was about more than just the medal.

The pair stole the show at the Rzeszow Diving Arena, dramatically storming to the top of the 3m springboard synchro podium with a stunning final dive following a slow start.

It was redemption of the highest order for the teenagers, who battled through a torrid year of injuries in the wake of an agonising fourth place at last year’s European Championships in Rome.

But despite all the knockbacks, the duo never gave up hope of getting back to the top of their game and now have their eyes on further heights heading into an Olympic year.

“We had Euros where we came fourth last year, and the day after we landed [back in the UK] I had an operation to try and help me train more,” explained Rollinson.

“We both had ankle injections at the beginning of this year and then Desharne did a partial dislocation of her shoulder whilst training for the World Cup, and that was in synchro with somebody else and then we came back together for this.”

“I am quite an optimist, so I like to be positive about things and always see a way out,” added Bent-Ashmeil. “If something happens, I always try to make a plan on how I am going to recover and how I am going to get back and fight it.

“I don’t think I have really taken it in then. I still feel quite chilled about it. As it happened, I couldn’t believe it, I was shaking, I had so much adrenaline running through my body, I just couldn’t process my emotions.”

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Glory in Poland may have been the perfect ending to an injury-riddled 12 months, but it is also the peak so far of two young careers that began in Luton and London.

For Rollinson, her journey is rooted in the legacy of London 2012.

“I used to do gymnastics, swimming, and trampolining and they are all quite related to diving,” said Rollinson.

“It was around the 2012 Olympics that a new pool opened a three-minute drive away from my house in Luton, and it has got a full 10-metre facility. I decided to try a lesson there because it seemed quite cool.

“I only started because we saw it on the TV during the Olympics, we saw Tom [Daley] winning and all the other people doing well. We thought maybe we should just try it and it just went from there.”

While Rollinson’s journey is perhaps the more conventional of the two, Bent-Ashmeil’s is the story of the girl who wanted to dive before she could swim.

“I used to do gymnastics for five years and then I stopped when I was nine. I had a two-year break doing nothing, I wanted to get back into sport but wasn’t really sure what sport I wanted to do,” said Bent-Ashmeil.

“I watched my niece do diving in Crystal Palace and I looked across and thought maybe I could try that. My mum wasn’t too keen on it because I didn’t even know how to swim!

“My mum put me into swimming lessons first, I did that for six months and then started diving and loved it.”

There is just four months between the pair in age and it is key to their relationship in and out of the pool, even if they are different personalities.

“I am the loud one and excitable one, always happy,” said Bent-Ashmeil. “We are very different, but I think we complement each other very well. We are opposite ends, but we meet in the middle.”

“If I am having a bad day, Desharne is herself and helps me get into a better mood,” added Rollinson.  Sportsbeat2023

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