BarcelonaLook down and feel the emptiness. On the trampoline there is very little time to think, but the images and sensations follow without stopping. And if it goes wrong? What if I miscalculate and fall badly into the water? Extreme jumps are reserved for a select group. Few people in the world are able to climb to a height of 20 or 27 meters and throw themselves into the water doing backflips and pirouettes. Celia Fernández (Madrid, 1988) discovered this sport by pure chance and now she can’t imagine her life without the thrill of getting on the platform. Celia, however, is not content with extreme jumps. In addition, she spends most of her time preparing for the exams to be a firefighter and is a film specialist.
“Cirque du Soleil goes around the world doing auditions and looking for people who are gymnasts or jumpers, people with an acrobatic background, like me – recounts Fenández -. They gave us physical tests and then asked us to jump into the water. to be my first contact. After that I decided to continue with this sport and sign up for a club in Madrid in the adult category. I had no ambition to compete, much less! When we saw the videos from the pros I was like, wow, one day I want to do this! But like he said he wanted to own a Ferrari, you know? [riu]”, recalls the jumper, who is still proud of having competed in a World Cup and being part of the international circuit of high diving (extreme jumps) in such a short time.
Jumps, fire brigade and cinema
From the time she started jumping until she reached the world circuit, four years passed and the jumper still vividly remembers her beginnings. “Getting to compete was brutal, but it made me feel a bit like an impostor. It was like I was doing something I shouldn’t be doing, like I shouldn’t be there – she confesses -.” My routine is jumping from 20 meters in the water. The cool thing is to think that I can make a living out of it. It’s brutal. A few years ago I saw that people could make a living from art and doing what they love, and it was my dream. And I just fell into it the other day: that’s what’s happening to me. I’ve had fun!” [riu]
This year he starts his fourth season as a professional and admits that feelings about the platform have changed over time. “In the beginning, I had very physical nerves: I was shaking, my stomach was tickling… Also, I had a lot of bad thoughts and turned everything that could happen to me into a negative. Now I’m at a point where my feelings are ‘turn off. I managed to quiet my mind and I only think about the jump, about the technical aspects of what I have to do. I have had a very clear mental evolution,” emphasizes Fernández. The mental part is one of the most important in this sport. The jumps themselves, even if they require great physical preparation, demand decisive peace and mental stability when jumping from 20 meters. “Movements are something the body does out of pure repetition. I don’t think about it, my body does it. I trust it 100%. If you start thinking you start to scratch yourself. You have to rely on the previous work done and in your own body. If you start thinking about things, it’s worse, because you feel you can’t do it. Then surely your boss tells you no and you can’t jump,” he adds.
Fear and courage, two sides of the same coin
There are many fears that go hand in hand with extreme jumps. The height, the speed, the entry into the water… But what worries the athletes the most is “getting lost”. “I know at all times where the water is and where I am. I jump with my eyes open. Every time I do a stunt, I have to look at the water afterwards to know I’m doing well. The problem comes when you open your eyes afterwards of closing them to do the stunt and where there should be water there is nothing and you’re looking at the sky. That’s the biggest fear, getting lost,” confesses the jumper with goosebumps.
Now, training properly and thoroughly for this sport is not at all easy or practical. “There aren’t many pools in the world that have platforms that high. What we do is jump from 7 and 10 meters and practice the jumps in parts. Then what we look for are places outside that have the heights we want . Now I have booked a place near Madrid that is 19 meters high, and I can practice there. We are looking for places as we can,” says Fernández. “For the past 3 years, the sport has been evolving a lot. People are training much more and better at real heights. Which helps to make the sport evolve a lot. The jumps are much more complex, now,” he concludes excited for a promising future.
