Anton Down-Jenkins was born on September 6, 1999 in Wellington, New Zealand. He is an Olympic diver who competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where he became the first male diver to represent New Zealand at the Olympics since 1984.
Thereafter, he participated at the 2021 Diving World Cup, earning his Olympic quota for individual 3m springboard. Not to mention, Anton gained New Zealand’s best ever finish at a Diving World Cup after landing in 10th place at the event.
On top of all that, the 24-year-old diver is considered to be the first diver from New Zealand to qualify for an Olympic final. More recently, he announced via an Instagram post that he is “stepping away from the boards.”
“I recently decided to end my campaign through to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and while I’m sure a lot of people are confused by the timing, it couldn’t feel more right,” Anton wrote about his retirement.
He continued by looking back at his amazing achievements, sharing:
“I’ve accomplished so much more than I ever thought possible as an athlete in the sport of diving. From qualifying for the Olympics to competing in an Olympic final, after Tokyo I had ticked off every single goal I had ever set out to achieve in sport, something not many people can say they ever do.”
“I’m so proud of myself for pushing through for as long as I have, but my dreams have changed and there are so many things that I am excited to do that just don’t involve being an athlete. I’m still going to be involved in the sport, now just from the pool deck,” he explained, revealing his plans for the future.
You can see his full retirement post here:
Moreover, Anton is openly gay, and he may be retiring from diving, but hopefully not from thirst trapping, which he has definitely been slaying on the gram 😉
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, outsports.com
Cute cute cute. What a cutie. Had no clue he’s gay. xoxoxo.