Australian diver Georgia Sheehan won’t give up on Paris 2024 after mental health setback ended Tokyo dream

Shortly after the Gold Coast Games, mental health concerns and burnout forced Georgia Sheehan to take a break. While it ended her tokyo dream she says she’d be no chance for Paris without it.

Georgia Sheehan of Australia

Mental health issues and burnout forced Georgia Sheehan to give up her shot at the Tokyo Olympics but she isn’t going to let a new wave of mental hurdles get in the way a second time.

Sheehan will have one of the biggest programs of any Aussie diver at the World Championships in Japan, competing in the 1m and 3m individual events and 3m synchro event.

The 23-year-old was on track to make the Tokyo Olympics after winning gold and silver in the 3m synchronised and 1m individual event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

But shortly after landing on the podium Sheehan put a pause on her diving career, unsure if she would ever go back.

She was battling mental health issues and burnout.

“I don’t think I’d be looking at potentially qualifying for an Olympics without that break,” Sheehan said.

Georgia Sheehan of Australia at the Commonwealth Game

“It was something I definitely needed and it was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my sporting career to date so I feel like it definitely just gave me the rest and recuperation and a huge change in mindset.”

Sheehan made a comeback at the 2022 World Championships, followed by the Commonwealth Games. She finished fifth at the 1m springboard event at Worlds and in Birmingham.

“After such a long break out of the pool I probably didn’t have the best competition experience under my belt,” Sheehan said.

“I thought I was probably more prepared than perhaps I was and I didn’t perform quite as well as I would have liked last year so I’m really excited.

“I feel like I’ve gotten a couple more competitions under my belt over the last 12 months and I’ve learned so much about myself as a diver and how I approach competitions over those times.

“I definitely feel prepared to knuckle down and show everyone what I’ve got and hopefully qualify through to the final.”

Sheehan said last season had highlighted several new mental hurdles, including competition anxiety, but she had worked hard with her sports psychologist and coach Matthew Helm to find techniques to combat them.

“I think because I had been out of competition practice for quite some time it hit me more than I potentially expected it to,” Sheehan said.

“I was in the middle of a competition season and having to try and deal with that competition anxiety which was quite hard in a very short amount of space but I feel like this year we’ve done more competition and a lot of prep in the training pool and I feel ready.”

The World Championships run from July 14-22 in Fukuoka, Japan.

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Originally published as Australian diver Georgia Sheehan won’t give up on Paris 2024 after mental health setback ended Tokyo dream