There was Bryan Nickson Lomas, an Olympian and world junior champion when he was just 14. Then, there was Jellson Jabillin, who went on to become a SEA Games gold medallist in 2017.

Now, Sarawak has another up-and-coming diver in the national team.

New recruit Enrique Maccartney Harold is going for centralised training in China to get ready for the possibility of featuring in the Diving World Cup in Tokyo in April.

The 16-year-old Enrique is all excited about his first overseas training stint with the national team, handled by coaches Li Rui and Christian Brooker.

Kuching-born Enrique is now focused on the 10m platform event and how he copes with the training in Chengdu will decide if he gets to dive at the World Cup, the final Olympic qualifying meet.

The top 18 divers in the individual event and top four pairs in the synchro will qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

It will be a new experience altogether if he does get in as Enrique has not been tested yet at the 10m height for a platform event at the senior level. At junior meets, a diver can dive from the 7m platform.

“This is the first time I am going with the national team members. I was in the back-up squad for two years but I have been asked to get ready to learn a new dive.

“If I can learn the new dive well in the next few weeks, I have a chance to go into bigger competitions.

“I have never competed in a major competition before, so I hope to adapt fast and improve, ” said Enrique.

The young diver has yet to win gold even at the Sukma (Malaysia Games) level but did win a silver in the platform event of the Australian Junior Diving Championship last year.

He also partnered Bertrand Rhodict to silver in the men’s 10m platform synchro in the Malaysia Diving Grand Prix in Bukit Jalil last year.

Tokyo Olympics bound divers Pandelela Rinong and Leong Mun Yee are already training in China since the start of the year.