Consistency key for Geggus at World Juniors

The conveyor belt of British diving talent shows no sign of grinding to a halt with another five medals won at this summer's Paris Olympics.

And coaches at Southend Diving are hopeful that Todd Geggus could make a big impact at future Games.

The 17-year-old springboard specialist is in a nine-strong Great Britain squad for the World Aquatics Junior Diving Championships in Rio de Janeiro from 24 November to 1 December.

Having finished ninth in the 1m event in Canada two years ago at the age of 15, this will be Geggus' final chance at the World Juniors because of age restrictions.

"It's his second time around, and he should be feeling a bit more like he knows what to expect," coach Shan Veasey told BBC Look East.

"We'd love to see him get a medal, and a realistic result of top six is something that we think is achievable."

Geggus - the current national age group champion in both springboard events -began learning to dive with his sisters when he was six or seven and his enthusiasm continued after they stopped.

"It was just the adrenalin and doing something that gives you a buzz - and you just want to keep going back again and again and again," he said.

Diving is a sport that can be difficult to walk away from - five-time Olympic medallist Tom Daley is pondering another Games appearance at Los Angeles in 2028 after collecting silver in the 10m synchro platform event in Paris.

For all his success, though, Daley, is not the main inspiration for Geggus.

"The person I look up to most is probably Ross Haslam because he's a really good 3m springboard diver and I want to be good at 3m as well," he said.

Mountain biking and restoring cars with his father provide Geggus with relaxation away from the pool, but pursuing his diving ambitions means he trains six times a week, including a three-hour session on Saturdays.

"My dream would be to go to the Olympics, that's been my goal since I first started and hopefully I'll get there one day," he added.

"I just need to train as hard as I can, work hard basically.

"I've always loved it, but it can be quite scary when you're learning new dives or just doing dives that you don't enjoy as much."

So what are his hopes for the forthcoming championships in Rio?

He said: "(I need to) Stay consistent and be happy however it goes. There's a lot of good divers in the competition, but a medal would be my goal, to come away with a medal."

There are a number of talented young divers based in Southend - Alice Billton recently came second in synchro representing England at an event in California, and Connor Lano has also taken part in international competitions.

"Since I have been involved (in the sport), I have seen British diving go from strength to strength," said Veasey.

"This year in particular has been the most successful year, especially for female divers. This year they've absolutely smashed it and got some historic results which is wonderful to see.

"I think Great Britain, as a whole in terms of sport, is continuing to get stronger and stronger."

Veasey, previously a regional development manager for the Amateur Swimming Association, now Swim England, is disappointed that diving will not be part of the slimmed-down Commonwealth Games in Scotland in 2026.

The event had to be switched after the Australian state of Victoria withdrew from hosting it.

"It's being held in Glasgow and we've got a dive pool in Edinburgh so it is a shame not to make the most of that opportunity," she said.

"As a spectacle, we would have loved to be able to access the Commonwealth Games but we'll look for other opportunities to gain that experience."

And experience is crucial as star pupil Geggus looks to progress.

"He's been with the programme for 10 years or thereabouts and he's always been very good at the sport," Veasey added.

"He's had many successes as a junior diver and he's just beginning to make the transfer into senior diving now. He's had good results there too for a boy of his age, so we're pretty proud of him.

"A stretch goal is the LA 2028 (Olympics) - if that happens, that would be amazing. If not, we're looking at 2032 as a little bit more of a realistic target."