Jaxon Bowshire's best life

Describe the best day of your life.
One of the best days of my life would have to be during my first diving world championships when the competition came right down to just three points. The support from the crowd was electric and afterwards, I found myself surrounded by so many friends who had cheered me along the whole time. Come to think of it, I don't think I have ever felt so relieved. My teammates and I spent the rest of the day packing to fly back home – eating all the excess food from earlier in the week we hadn’t gotten to – and just relaxing knowing we had done all we could.

Describe the best meal you’ve eaten.
The dinner I had at The Grange Hotel with my close friends for my 18th birthday. I decided to have dinner with them because I had the Olympic Nominations Competition about a week later and didn’t want a big party. I had beer-battered fish and chips and lemonade which is my go-to at a pub and we had Yo-Chi for dessert down at Henley Square. The food was brilliant but I'd have to say the company is what made it the best meal I’ve ever eaten.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given?
The best advice I've ever received was from my dad, who told me: “do what you have to do when you have to do it, whether you want to do it or not”. It has to be one of the most annoying pieces of advice because it’s true. More often than not you will have to do something that you don’t want to and it is always better to get it done, rather than spending days procrastinating. This piece of advice got me through school and has helped me at times while diving.

What is the most treasured photograph you have and why?
I have two photos that I treasure, the first being a photo of me on a rope at gymnastics from when I was four. It captures the beginning of a long road that led me to the Olympics.

The second photo would be of my reaction to my score at the 2023 Elite Junior Nationals where I got a new personal best and a state record. According to my sister, it was the most emotion that I had ever shown in a competition.

What are the best qualities of your favourite person?
My favourite qualities in a person would be honesty, trustworthiness and humour. Honesty is important to me because I like to know exactly what they are thinking, whether good or bad, and trustworthiness because being able to trust the people around me is important. Humour is also important because laughing is always worthwhile.

What are the best five songs on your playlist?
Teddybears – Cobrastyle
Madcon ft Ray Dalton - Don't Worry
The Wombats – Lemon to a Knife Fight
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds – In the Heat of the Moment
Próxima Parada – Musta Been a Ghost

Best-ever purchase?
My best purchase would have to be my first racing simulator. I've always loved racing but being able to do it in my own house has allowed me to spend ridiculous amounts of time racing against other people online. It has also been a great way for me to unwind after a long day of training or school work, so although I've since replaced it with a newer version, the first was my best purchase.

Jaxon is an athlete through the South Australian Institute of Sport Diving Program. For anyone interested in learning about diving, or wanting to try diving for themselves, visit divingsa.com.au