Olympic Diver Splashed Feet-First into Pool But Learned Valuable Lesson

By
David Rufful
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OPINION | This article contains commentary that reflects the author's opinion.

Canadian diver Pamela Ware jumped off the board and splashed into the pool feet first.

She finished in 18th place with a score of 245.10. The error occurred during the 3-meter springboard semifinal at the Tokyo Olympics.

However, she says she’s learned an important lesson and that she’s not going anywhere despite the stunning mistake. She said this will not have an everlasting effect on her or her career.

“I am very proud of myself. Something really difficult,” Ware said to her followers online. “What you see in the competition is just a tiny factor of what we actually do to get to where we are.”

“I was so ready for this competition and I made a mistake. It could have happened to anybody but it happened to me at the wrong time,” Ware said. “But I am proud because I have done everything possible to make it to where I am. And I’m human. I’m allowed to make mistakes.”

“I hope you guys are gonna get used to having me around because I’m not going anywhere. I’m not giving up. This competition doesn’t define me and I’m not letting it defeat me. I’ll be around for another three years,” she added.

TRENDING 👇 Trump Critic Kathy Griffin Reveals Her Dark Past

Comedian Kathy Griffin gained political notoriety in 2017 after she “joked” about killing then-President Trump in a photo using a fake severed head of the former president.

The comedian, who is now 60, revealed she is battling stage one lung cancer. In an interview with ABC News, Griffin revealed much more about her past. Over the past four years, Griffin said her life spiraled after facing immense backlash for posing with a bloodied, severed fake head of then-President Trump. Griffin struggled with pill addiction and thoughts of suicide after posting the picture in 2017.

“I thought, ‘Well, I don’t even drink… Big deal, I take a couple pills now and again, who doesn’t?’” she told ABC News. “Also, my age was a big part of it. I mean, who bottoms out and tries to take their life at 59? It’s almost a joke, right, and by the way, someday, this will all be comedy. Trust me… I was laughing to stay alive. And what I found is I felt like if I can’t make others laugh, then there’s no purpose for me to live. There’s no reason for me to live.”

“I just felt there was impending doom,” she said. “I was already starting to think … it was time for me to go. And I was certainly being told by an awful lotta people it’s time for me to go.” More from Fox News:

After an apology and a subsequent rescinding of that apology, Griffin embarked on the cheekily titled “Laugh Your Head Off” tour in 2017. She noted that it was around that time that she was introduced to pills, leading to a behind-the-scenes battle that would ultimately lead to a suicide attempt…

She was first prescribed Provigil by a doctor. That was soon followed by a prescription to Ambien to help her sleep followed by painkillers to help her manage various injuries. The star says that her dependence on pills “got out of control very rapidly.”

Her addiction quickly led to thoughts of suicide. She says that her life was dedicated to getting on stage and showing people how resilient she was. However, amid the immense backlash from the Trump photo, she revealed that she started to feel her critics were right and that there was no next chapter in her career or life.