Ego amigo?

It was the fourth event of the 2009 cliff-diving world series. One by one, the competitors mounted the board overlooking the sea in AntalyaThe fifth-most populous city in Turkey. . All had amazing routines, but when Gary Hunt's turn came he pulled off something extraordinary: the "triple quad", consisting of a triple somersault with four twists. It was, according to his rival Orlando Duque, "the most difficult dive ever done."

Cliff-diving is an incredibly demanding and dangerous sport. In pool diving, the highest board is 10m above the water. Cliff divers go to 27m - the height of an eight-storey building.

Though they are only in the air for three seconds, they reach a speed of 50mph. Going in head-first is too risky, so they need to break the water with their feet. Duque compares getting it wrong to running "full speed into a wall". Even getting it right is a painful experience.

But Gary Hunt is a natural. In that first world series in 2009 he finished second. Since then he has won 11 times and been runner-up twice. He has been called "the Michael Jordan, the Muhammad Ali, the Tiger Woods" of the sport.

There have been setbacks along the way. In 2010 he mistimed a dive, suffered concussion when he hit the water, and was unable to move his neck or shoulders for two weeks. But a week after that he was competing again.

What astonishes people is that he seems oblivious to his status as a world-class athlete. He has no coach and no lucrativeProfitable, or something that makes a lot of money. sponsors. He is surprised when people recognise him in the street.

He trains hard, spending long hours in the gym, and has an intense desire to win. But he is relaxed about what he eats and drinks, and does not worry when he misses a plane or his stop on a train - as he often does, because he is spectacularly absent-minded.

He either gives his trophies to his mother or turns them into something useful, like a pot-plant holder.

Hunt grew up in Leeds, and started diving at the age of nine. He was soon confident enough to climb 10m boards. As a teenager he enrolled at Southampton Diving Academy with his best friend, Gavin Brown, and in 2006 he represented Britain at the Commonwealth Games, winning a bronze medal.

According to a contemporary, "he had this in-built drive to challenge himself" - but was also "laid-back to the point of horizontal".

But in 2007 tragedy struck, when Gavin Brown was killed in a road accident. Hunt was so distraught that he suffered a breakdown. "I never really wanted to make a good friend again," he says.¹ "I kind of accepted I was going to be alone."

In the end, though, losing his friend gave him new impetus: "All the things we'd talked about doing in high-diving, he couldn't do now - so I said to myself, 'I'm going to do it.'"

Alongside his cliff-diving triumphs, he has won two gold medals and a silver for high-diving at the World Championships. Now, having made his home in France and taken French citizenship because of Brexit, he hopes to represent his new country in the next Olympics.

Yes: Hunt knows who he is and remains true to that despite the razzmatazz surrounding top athletes. Self-awareness allows us to change our behaviour and attitude so that we can realise our full potential.

No: Sport is all about physical ability. No amount of self-analysis is going to provide you with the answers in a difficult situation - you need to rely on your body to tell you what to do.

Or... Ego gives you the self-belief you need to succeed at sport, but too much of it will hinder you. You have to be ready to listen to your coach's criticisms, and be a team player when necessary.