Pandelela Rinong: Diving into everyday life

Pandelela Rinong at her best as she competes in the women's 10m platform diving semifinal event at the 15th FINA World Championships in Barcelona, Spain. Photo: THE STAR/Glenn Guan

Sink or swim, Pandelela Rinong was aware the country had her back before making that leap from 10 metres above the water line. The stakes were high, but she knew she had nothing to lose ... no Malaysian had been this far before, after all. And with one deft leap, two and a half somersaults and one and a half twists later, she sliced through the water of the Aquatic Centre at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London like a hot knife through butter.

The remarkable dive earned her a bronze medal, the first by a Malaysian outside of badminton, and the first female athlete to win a medal at the Olympics for the country. Badminton may have always been viewed as the ticket to success here, but Lela, as she’s fondly known, has put diving firmly on the nation’s sporting map.