1. Leon Taylor was born on 2 November 1977 and is a former British competitive diver.
17 Facts About Leon Taylor
1. 2.
Leon Taylor now speaks about mental wellness, supports the SportsAid charity, teaches yoga and mental wellness, works for an executive performance business and commentates for the BBC.
3.
Leon Taylor was born and educated in Cheltenham where he attended Bournside School.
4.
Leon Taylor was hyperactive as a child and his parents were advised to channel his energies and enthusiasm into sport.
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Leon Taylor was a swimmer and gymnast from the age of two and took up competitive diving when he was eight.
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Leon Taylor trained at Cheltenham Leisure Centre under Dave Turner and then Ian Barr until 1996.
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Leon Taylor represented Great Britain at three Summer Olympic Games and was a member of the Great Britain team for 16 years winning medals at all major international championships.
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Leon Taylor had come fourth in the same competition in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
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Leon Taylor trained with other members of the British team in the Ponds Forge swimming complex in Sheffield.
10.
In 1998 Leon Taylor invented the 5255b; a back 2.5 somersaults, 2.5 twists which at the time was the World's most difficult dive with a tariff of 3.8.
11.
In 2010 Leon Taylor published a book on the subject of mentoring: MENTOR - The most important role you were never trained for.
12.
Leon Taylor returned to judge on the show in its second series, airing in 2014.
13.
Leon Taylor had planned, and booked, a once-in-a-lifetime trip to New Zealand with his girlfriend when 'Splash' came about instead.
14.
In 2016 Leon Taylor was part of the BBC commentary team for the diving events at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and for the 2017 World Aquatics Championships.
15.
In 2018, Leon Taylor spoke at the TEDx Clapham event on the subject of managing prolonged mental stress with the aid of physical movement.
16.
Leon Taylor has followed this with a series of videos on the subject of stress.
17.
In March 2020, Leon Taylor led a series of exercise routines for the Headspace mobile app.