大象传媒

Reading-born Chris Mears has just won Gold at the Diving European Championships. He has begun to start to think about the event, but he may not have ever reached it, after a severe bout of glandular fever almost killed him.

"Up until a week ago I hadn't really thought about how close it was, just because I think it can affect mind-set and performance."

"Now, it's finally sunk in, the next event we'll be diving against other guys in the world will be the Olympic Games."

"I was pretty close to death's door, I had a 5% chance of surviving the operation, but because I was an athlete I survived."

"The feeling that nothing else can be worse is a good mind-set, because it helps me work that little bit harder."