Don Wagstaff
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| Birth name | Don Wagstaff | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 24 July 1949 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 3m springboard, 10m platform | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Don Wagstaff (born 24 July 1949) is an Australian former diver who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics, in the 1972 Summer Olympics, and in the 1976 Summer Olympics.[1]
Career[]
Upon arriving in Kingston, Jamaica for the 1966 Commonwealth Games, Wagstaff and fellow diver were the first to start training immediately upon arrival, despite the day being declared one of "relaxation and settling in", due to the long trip from Sydney, Australia. Their opportunity to train was limited, as the pool staff were not expecting them so soon upon their arrival.[2] Wagstaff went on to win two silver medals at the games, one in each of the men's diving events. He was the only male diver to represent Australia during the 1968 Summer Olympics.[3]
In the men's diving event of the 1970 British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland, Wagstaff picked up gold medals in both of the events and became the first Australian man to win a gold medal in a springboard event at any previous Olympic or Commonwealth Games. Wagstaff was described as having given "the best exhibition of spring-board diving seen by an Australian". His achievement was witnessed by his mum, who had to save $1000 in order to travel to the games and filmed him diving on her movie camera.[4] In 1971, following his diving success, he attended The Age Sports Star of the Year banquet in Melbourne, at a time when he was being described as "the greatest diver Australia has ever produced".[5]
Personal[]
His father was in the navy during World War II and he would frequently dive from the mast of a destroyer into the ocean "just for the hell of it".[4]
References[]
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Don Wagstaff". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
- ^ "Divers first to train in Kingston". The Age. 22 July 1966. p. 24.
- ^ "Games trip the silver lining". The Age. 27 February 1968. p. 21.
- ^ a b "Gold medal, and it's all on film". The Age. 22 July 1970. p. 22.
- ^ "Flying in for a star night". The Age. 29 January 1971. p. 28.
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- 1949 births
- Living people
- Olympic divers of Australia
- Divers at the 1968 Summer Olympics
- Divers at the 1972 Summer Olympics
- Divers at the 1976 Summer Olympics
- Divers at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
- Divers at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games
- Divers at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games
- Divers at the 1978 Commonwealth Games
- Commonwealth Games medallists in diving
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia
- Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia
- Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia
- Australian male divers
- Diving (sport) biography stubs
- Australian sportspeople stubs