The poetry of the physics behind Iffland’s physical feats

The first hint of a twitch in Red Bull Cliff Diver Rhiannan Iffland’s feet which signals to her brain she’s set to launch herself into the 22 metres of great nothingness between the platform she’s perched on and the turquoise water far below, sparks a chain of events which, for lovers of physics, is as poetic as the aesthetics of her physical feat.

Iffland accelerates off the platform at an astonishing 9.8 metres per second – that’s comparable to the speed it takes a Bugatti Veyron supercar to accelerate from 0 to 100km/h. In the three split seconds it will take the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship athlete to hit the water, she’ll travel anywhere between 75 to 80km/h.

All going well she should have completed a routine that could include four and a half somersaults and half a twist. Then, in the split second before Iffland hits the water feet first – and at two to three times the force of gravity – she’ll engage her extensor muscles in the legs, groin, core, and abdominals to help her body absorb the sudden shock.

There’s a photograph of the ‘bomb hole’ a cliff diver makes in the split second they hit the water. Such is the impact the aquatic cloud that blooms above them looks like the vision of a nuclear bomb being detonated. In the next millisecond of Iffland’s descent friction, which takes the form of jetstreams around the leading edge of her feet and hands, will slow her down so suddenly she’ll shudder from 80km/h to zero in the blink of an eye.

However, Iffland’s momentum hasn’t completely finished, because, like a fighter pilot pulling the ripcord of their parachute after ejecting from their cockpit, she spreads her arms out as wide as possible to slow down her descent into the depths where safety divers in SCUBA gear lurk to ensure she is fine.

A film clip produced by Red Bull featuring a watermelon demonstrated the ever-present risks of Iffland’s sport. The melon was hurled from the men’s 28 metre platform, where, upon impact, it burst into a giant puff of red juice and mush.

As a six-time world cliff diving champion Iffland is one of the sport’s most revered competitors. While she may appear ice cold and in control of every aspect of her sport, she confessed to wrestling with any number of fears. However, this Super Woman of extreme sport giggles when she admits spiders are her kryptonite.

“Everything about high diving scares me, but that fear keeps me in the sport,” she said. “It’s such a cool feeling to know you’ve overcome your fears. It’s a feeling that lifts you; makes you motivated.

“It’s such a hard thing to explain. I even find at 10 metres that when you accomplish something it makes you realise you’re capable of pushing past the barriers . . . the mental barrier, the barrier of fear . . . it’s such a good feeling.”

While most would freeze as they stood on the 20m platform – the equivalent of a five storey building – Iffland, from Lake Macquarie near Newcastle, has developed a mental routine that helps to steel her nerves.

“It’s just about reassurance and talking to myself,” she said. “I learnt last year to draw back on not only the last couple of years’ experience, but the last 20. Sometimes I think of myself being a little kid from Newcastle jumping off the board. The one thing I do think as I wait [to dive] is ‘OK, you’ve put in so many days so many hours to get to this point.

“The locations we dive at also help. I always find myself standing there and just looking around and thinking ‘this is what I do . . . this is amazing!’ I couldn’t have it any other way. Competing at Sydney Harbour last November was a very special occasion for me.

“I was dreaming of that moment for a long time. It was amazing to stand on the platform and to look at the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It didn’t feel real. But it was so special, and to have my family and friends watching as I won my sixth world title was special.

“Some people might find the scenery distracting, but when you’re standing there and looking down the barrel – 22 metres – it’s game on. You must focus; you have no choice.

“You know it’s a good dive when it really hurts. It’s really cool. You have so many thoughts, feelings, and diving before the actual dive, but once you hit the water the world goes silent. You just think ‘OK, that felt great, let’s go again’.

“Sometimes when you land in the water you remember what you were thinking during the dive, but normally you don’t because you’re so focused. They’re very sharp and specific thoughts like ‘OK, I grab my legs now’ and ‘OK, there’s the water’.

After finding her feet in trampolining as a nine year old, Iffland said she became ‘hooked’ on diving once she tried the springboard at her local swimming pool. By 15 she was training under NSWIS’s Head Diving Coach, Chava Sobrino and alongside the likes of Olympic medallist, Melissa Wu.

“I think from the age of 15, under Chava, was where I learnt all my technique,” she said. “NSWIS is where I learnt all my aerials, all the fundamentals of the sport. It’s what set me up for everything.

“My personality is I want a little bit more, and while I was burnt out diving 10 metres, I think the main attraction of cliff diving was everything that came with the sport – the travel, the locations, being surrounded by nature. It’s rawer, and it’s a bit more of a thrill. That’s what made change.

“My first 20m dive at a training session at a competition in Italy. A friend of mine walked out to the end of the platform with me. He tapped me on the shoulder and simply said: ‘You’ve got this!’ Then it was a matter of one, two, three, GO!

“That dive isn’t fresh in my memory because I was so hyper focused and in a different mindset. But I remember it going well. From that moment I was hooked.”

Iffland will compete in this weekend’s round of the Red Bull Cliff Diving series in Italy and from there she’ll travel to Japan where she’ll represent Australia at the World Aquatic Championships in Fukuoka. She’s proud to be flying the Australian flag.

“This is my third world championships and competing for Australia, so it’s super exciting,” she enthused. There’s three of us – three females competing in 20m. It should be cool, and I hope to be able to cheer on my teammates – the other Aussie divers – as well.

Daniel Lane, NSWIS