I grew up in an elite gymnastics performance-based environment. Here, my understanding of my identity was immersed in performance. If I achieved I felt valued and if I didn’t then I wasn’t as important. All in all, it wasn’t healthy.

At school, I was known as the gymnast kid who’s going to the Olympics. The issue here was that I knew at 16 that gymnastics wasn’t my best sport. I knew I would be better at sports such as diving, aerial skiing or trampolining. I was too afraid to let go of my identity as 'The Gymnast’. Fear consumed me.

After finding a connection with God in Christianity, I let go of this performance-based identity. At the ripe age of 22 I switched from gymnastics to diving and it was the best decision of my sporting career.

My message is that even if things aren’t going well in your work or life, it doesn’t define you; there’s always hope, and everyone is important and valuable.

You don’t have to be talented or gifted to be important. Everyone has a purpose in life. I’m going to use my platform as an athlete to encourage each individual to find theirs.