- Just to set your expectations:
I'm not jumping from that tower today.
And I'm not jumping from that tower either.
I am going up there
and, frankly, I've seen the route I've got to take,
it looks terrifying enough.
But that 20 meter platform is twice the height
of the tallest Olympic standard board.
If I jump from up there,
I'd hit the water at about 70 kilometers an hour.
That's easy enough speed that, with no training,
I would be in hospital.
I've even got to be harnessed in while I'm up there just in case.
But that doesn't apply to Lysanne Richard,
world class high diver and cliff diver who is
going to show me the way up
and then take the quick route down.
And down here, safely at pool level,
someone from the Montreal Olympic Park's team
is going to explain why they built a board that high.
- It's the biggest aquatic center in Canada.
It's a facility that was built for the Olympics back in 1976
and it's also right now home of Team Canada in many sports.
It's also open to the public.
- How long have you been training
to be able to do this sort of thing?
- I did gymnastic and diving and circus before,
but it's been already 22 years that I'm a high diver.
- And you were in Cirque du Soleil right?
- Yes. I worked at Cirque du Soleil for a while,
but I never did diving with Cirque du Soleil.
- Okay.
- It was completely renovated in 2015.
Lysanne was well aware of the Olympic Center.
She was also training here.
So when we renovated,
she looked at all the space here and she said
maybe you could put a high diving platform there.
And we started with a 18 meter platform.
Then two years later she said, well, you know,
I think you guys got room for a 20 meter platform.
So we built a 20 meter platform,
and we became the only place in North America
where people can perform high diving in an interior space.
Winter can be harsh sometime,
but because we have this facility, they can train all year long.
- So how do you learn to do this?
do you just, like, work up from lower heights and-
- Yeah! You do not do high diving if somebody asks you.
- Right.
- Like, you really have to feel that you have to do it, you know?
So just right here.
- Okay. Up the ladder.
Oh, I can feel the positive pressure, the heat...
There's air coming up through here!
- Yeah, so this is the last chance of changing your mind!
- Yeah, no, it's fine.
I'm going to be harnessed in. It's okay.
- Yeah
- Let's go.
- The structure that is here was built initially
because people needed to have access to change the lights.
The 12 and the 15 meters is attached
to the platform that we have right here.
But the 20 meter is attached through the roof.
- I've got to be harnessed in up here with a lot of stuff.
You just have a safety loop.
- Because I'm an acrobat,
I have the authorization to go only with the hand loop.
- Right. Let's go.
Oh, this platform bounces!
- Yes. Because it bends, it's not going to break. All right!
- Yeah. You are 15 meters up from the floor.
- Okay. Lead the way.
So how many times a day can you do this? 'Cause it's got to be a physical strain.
- Yeah. I do more of the complementary training than high diving.
'Cause I'm 41.
At one point I had enough impact on my body,
so now I train everywhere else
and I do high diving to perform.
Depending of your age, of your injury,
you can go a maximum six times, by day.
- Okay.
- But you cannot do every day and you cannot high dive every month.
- It's that much strain on your body.
- Yeah, because after high diving
you need a recovery time, you know.
- Because you're hitting the water at what,
70 kilometers an hour, something like that?
- Exactly. But in some of my challenges, I go 27 meters,
so it's pretty fast.
And here, the water is warm, so it's easier on the body.
But when we go outside or in competition-
- Oh you might be cliff diving into cold ocean?
- Yeah, yeah.
- We know that FINA, which is the Federation of Aquatic Sports,
are working towards having this sport in the Olympics.
So we said, well, we might as well have the equipment.
We also did the same thing with skateboarding.
We also have a big bowl.
So the goal here is to say after 45 years,
how can we be in the game, and be also a place,
where athletes still come train 45 years later.
- This is the 15 meter!
- This is brand new, now we have 15,
to build up the next high diving generation.
- Wow.
- So there's the 10, 12, 15, 18 and 20,
it makes it really safe,
because they do not learn too fast and have accidents.
- Olympic Games last only two weeks.
So what's happening when you pay
more than a billion dollars for Olympic facilities?
You need to think about the future.
- You have a zip wire!
- Yes. A zip line for this,
and I also always put the shoes down, I can-
- And that's just fun, that is, that's-
- I'm always jealous of my shoes.
I would like to go "aaagh"!
- We are able to be a place where they can practice
but we can also host some competition, which is quite nice
for a facility that was built 46 years ago.
- This is the one bit where I'm not harnessed in.
- Yeah.
- Okay. There we go.
You're entirely unharnessed
- Mm hmm.
- And I've got twintails on. All right.
- But you know, when we dive it's better to be unharnessed!
- Yeah, yeah it is!
Okay. I guess that's the one question I haven't asked,
which is "why". Why did you choose to take this up?
- At the beginning I wanted to do it
because I felt brave and I wanted to be one of the men.
'Cause at the beginning,
no women were doing this sport, you know?
So I wanted to prove that women, we can make it.
Then at one point I wanted to do it to
help the sport progress and go to the Olympics,
and help to build, to have the next generation and to win.
But now I do not need to compete anymore.
I want to inspirate the people
being involved into the progress of the sport.
I'm totally in the present moment when I do high dive,
and I'm a mom, I have three kids, I have a lot of jobs.
When I high dive there is nothing,
no grocery list, nothing.
- So I now just duck under here.
Agh. I'm harnessed in, I'm harnessed in.
I'm harnessed in.
I'm harnessed in... I've got two separate harness points.
All right.
- This is where champions are built, right here,
in those facilities, which are also accessible to everybody.
- (low voice) I don't want to distract her at this point
but when you're up here, you do realize that is...
that's a very long way down.
[cheering] Woo!
I'd applaud, but my hands are a bit busy.
Right, I'm going to take the slow route down, it's safer.