Paris 2024: Team GB’s Kyle Kothari on diving for Olympic glory

Growing up, Kyle, who is British Asian, says he was actually into gymnastics as a kid.

But he says he “loved” weekly diving sessions so much he chose the water as his future path.

According to data compiled by Sport England, about 95% of black adults and 93% of Asian adults in the UK do not swim, with South Asians among the groups least likely to be active, external.

“Being a British Asian in sport is already quite rare,” Kyle says.

“Especially when you get into the higher levels.”

He describes gymnastics as feeling “more diverse”, but aquatic sports like diving and swimming “were not diverse at all”.

“You sometimes need someone to do it, for you to believe that it’s possible,” he says.

That message – and sense of responsibility – hit home for him earlier this year, at the World Championships in Doha.

Speaking with the Indian diving team, he says they were surprised someone with South Asian heritage, like Kyle, was so good at diving.

“The coach told me about how some of the kids didn’t believe it was possible. Because there’s not been Indians that have been in the top six in the world before.

“It was the first time I actually thought: Hang on, it’s important to see someone that looks like you doing something.

“That makes you think that it’s possible.”