Diving Info > Diving Stars of the Past > Madeleine Barnett

  Madeleine Barnett
Madeleine Barnett  (Australian Olympian 1976)
 

  Madeleine Barnett (Australian Olympian)
Madeleine Barnett (Australian Olympian 1976)

 

Back then
Born On September 28, 1946 in Baarn, Holland from French and Dutch backgrounds
Club: Barnett Diving Academy, at Ryde in Sydney, Australia.
Coach: Jack Barnett, husband
Date married Married on October 25, 1972 to Jack Barnett.
Children: 2 boys
Diving Accomplishments
  Madeleine did not dive as a junior, all her accomplishments in diving are at the senior level.
1964 Australian State Champion
1965 Australian State Champion
1966 Australian State Champion
1967 Australian State Champion
1968 Australian State Champion
1970 Australian State Champion
1970 10 meter Australian Champion
1970 Australian State Champion
1970 Commonwealth Games, in Edinburgh, Scotland
1971 1 meter Australian Champion
1971 10 meter Australian Champion
1971 Australian State Champion
1972 Australian State Champion
1973 1 meter Australian Champion
1973 3 meter Australian Champion
1973 10 meter Australian Champion
1973 Australian State Champion.
1973 World Championships, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, finalist on the 3 meter and 10 meter platform events.
1974 3 meter Australian Champion
1974 10 meter Australian Champion
1974 Australian State Champion
1974 Commonwealth Games, Christ Church, New Zealand, 3rd place 10 meter platform even
1975 1 meter Australian Champion
1975 10 meter Australian Champion
1975 Australian State Champion
1975 World Championships, Calli, Colombia, finalist in the 3 meter and 10 meter platform event
1976 1 meter Australian Champion
1976 3 meter Australian Champion
1976 10 meter Australian Champion
1976 Montreal, Canada Olympic Games, 3 meter and platform
1978 Australian State Champion
1978 Commonwealth Games, Edmonton, Canada, 3rd place 3 meter event
1988 World Masters 3 meter and 1 meter Champion in Brisbane
Special Awards
  Life member of the the New South Wales Diving Association
  Life member of the Australian Diving Association
Until 1984 Number 1 coach in Australia
Coaching Accomplishments
1976- 2004

Started coaching at Ryde pool and the Tempe Sports center in Sydney, Australia and continued coaching until 2004. Barnett Diving Academy (Barnett Diving Academy later changed its name to Barnett Divers)

1983-2002 Australian Junior world coach
1982 to present FINA A judge (As a FINA Judge, Madeleine travels to the main FINA events (at world level) like Junior worlds, FINA world Cup, World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Grand Prix, and the Olympic Games.
Insights on Madeleine's Life
   
What other divers and coaches have you kept in touch with throughout the years?
 

While diving, and later, coaching I've kept in touch with many divers. Many divers became coaches and we still kept in touch...
For example, Matts Lingberg (Sweden) and his Olympic wife, Orika (Gold medalist 1976 10 meter platform)

In the US, I have many ex-divers and coaches friends for example: Tom Gompf , Ron O'Brien, Ken Armstrong, Dick Smith, Sammy Lee, Debbie McCormick (Lippman) and many others.

In Canada, Bev Boys, Cathy Seaman, Nancy Robinson...

At what age did you start diving?
  I started diving at the age of 14, at the local pool. And a lady who saw me taught me to dive and introduced me to Jack Barnett who became my coach and later my husband (34 years ago)
What was your favorite dive and your hardest dive?
  My favorite dive was a 203 A off the 10 meter platform
And my hardest dive, in those days, was a front 3 and a half, 107 C off the 10 meter platform
Who was your favorite Coach?
  What can I say... Jack Barnett (I married him) and Ron O'Brian (I was coached by Ron when I came to the US to compete)
What is your favorite part of diving as a sport?
  The privilege of meeting so many wonderful people around the world that have enhanced my life immensely.
In those days, did divers receive any money or compensation after winning a big meet?
  No, We only received medals and trophies.
Back then, what was better in the sport of diving?
  The companionship and friends that you made. I am still friends with a lot of the friends I made in diving in those days, all over the world. Now, diving is a job, not as fun as it used to be. It is so competitive that you can't make friends the way you used to.
What do you think is better now?
  The equipment, the new duraflex boards, and this started back in 1960 and has gotten better and will continue to get better as the years go on.
What did you miss the most when you retired from the sport of diving?
  Everything.. Training, traveling, competing and my friends from around the world.
What could or should be improved in the Diving World as we know it today?
  Certainly not the facilities as they are great... Judging and the communication between the coaches and the judges. A lot of the times the coaches interpret the rules differently than the judges.
What is your best memory about your years in diving?
  Watching my son, Steven Barnett, getting an Olympic medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, on the 3 meter Synchro event.
Did you get to travel internationally, and do you think that travelling is important to young divers?
  I only got to travel for the commonwealth games and the Olympics. At that time there were not Grand Prix or many large other international meets. But if you wanted to, and which I did, you could travel to the Can-Am-Mex (a yearly meet between Canada, the US and Mexico) and Europe International which were in Sweden, Helsinki, and Bolzano Italy. This is where I got my international experience but had to pay my own way to do this.
If you had the chance to “do it all, all over again”, would you? What would you do different?
  Yes, I would do it all over again, and wouldn't do it anything different. I have enjoyed everything, from the training, the traveling... Wouldn't change anything. The friends and relationships I made are the most important.
What is the most important “feature” a diver needs in order to “make the Olympic Team”
  They need to be very focused, and have to be ready to give up a lot, but they can pick up so much on the round about, by the travel they do, the people they meet and the confidence they get for themselves for their future life. Not only to make the Olympic Team, but also to make World Championships team , or Junior team it is always an honor to represent your country.
What would be the best advise you could give young divers today?
  Enjoy what they are doing, pick up as much as they can because the world is getting to be such a complex place to live in that every minute should be enjoyed. Have faith in themselves.