How Tom Cruise made Sam Fricker a Top Gun

With praise from Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise still ringing loudly in his ears, Tokyo Olympian Sam Fricker has landed in Berlin determined to complete his Mission Possible at the upcoming World Aquatics Diving Cup.

The 21-year-old, who competed in the recent World Aquatic Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, said he planned to use his time in Germany as yet another opportunity to grow as an athlete through being pitted against the sport’s elite.

“Competing in Japan was a great experience,” said the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship athlete of what he explained was a mixed performance by him at the world championships.

“We made the final of the men’s ‘synchro’, but I didn’t do quite as well as I would have liked in the platform. So, I think it’s good to have another event two weeks later to have another crack because I feel when you compete at the top level there’s some days when it works, and others when it doesn’t.”

Fricker, who took up diving as a schoolboy in Newcastle simply because he had a crush on a girl who was in the squad, described having the chance to perform in Berlin was a great chance for the Australian team to build on the impact of Cassiel Rousseau’s historic World Aquatic Championships gold medal for the 10m platform.

“Cassiel’s gold medal win was tremendous because I feel when it comes to the Chinese there’s this sense that they’re unbeatable,” said Fricker. “But that victory reminds everyone they are human, they are beatable and that those medals are up for grabs.

“My view is the more you’re competing the more chance you have to produce a performance you’re happy with.”

Fricker is also buoyed by the sense of respect he gained from superstar Tom Cruise when the pair briefly met last month at the Sydney Opera House for the premiere of the latest installment of Mission Impossible.

“I mentioned to Tom that I was an Olympic athlete and that I really respect he does his own stunts because it requires a lot of athleticism,” said Fricker. “He took the compliment on board because he said as an athlete, I’d have an appreciation for what it’s like to do something difficult.

“And that’s what I like about him. Through doing his own stunts he understands how difficult it can be to be in a good position and then perform. And it’s true . . . there’s days when you don’t feel so great, but you can’t send anyone else up there to compete for you.”

Should Cruise scour Fricker’s social media accounts he’d certainly be impressed by the Paris Olympic hopeful’s high dives off cliffs into many of Sydney’s most stunning waterways, including Sydney Harbour and the Hawkesbury River.

Fricker explained his thrilling dives – which are viewed by tens of thousands of his account’s followers – are the perfect release from the pressure of competing at an elite level.

“We have our competitive stuff in the pool which is highly controlled and very strict,” he said. “I like being able to rock up somewhere and we can utilise our skills . . . show what we can do in a relaxed environment and just muck around.

“It’s really just something we do to relax.”

Daniel Lane, NSWIS