The allure of diving from great heights. The story of Cosetti and Barnaba

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They only grazed the podium in Polignano a Mare. They caressed it for a few minutes. They dreamed of it, encouraged by the thousands of people cheering for them on the Lama Monachile bridge, on the beach below and even on the cliff in front. But in the end they had to "settle" (so to speak, they were very happy) for a fourth place that has a lot to teach. Elisa Cosetti and Andrea Barnaba are the two Italian divers of the Red Bull Cliff Diving, the world series of dives from great heights . They are both from Trieste, like their coach and new mother Nicole Belsasso and - even if by adoption - her husband Alessandro De Rose, an Italian pioneer of the discipline and winner in Polignano in 2017. And they have also been engaged for over a year.

“I am happy with this fourth place – says Barnaba – because it comes after a bad mistake and a big scare in the first stage in Chicago. I had in mind to bring a dive with a higher coefficient to the race, but I don't feel 100 percent ready yet and so I had to do my best with the ones I am most confident in. And I am enjoying this result” . Yes, because in the United States he got lost in the air and ended up in the water head first (and from 27 meters it is extremely dangerous). “It was a shock – continues Cosetti – I was really scared and that episode also affected my race because I got scared and I couldn't find the right concentration. And also from the race in Polignano I take home the lesson that I still have to improve on managing emotions and for this reason I asked for help from a psychologist who has been following me for a few months, I started to meditate and separate everything that happens outside from what I have control over”. The podium was within reach – Cosetti was second by a whisker behind the legendary Australian Rhiannan Iffland at half-time – but slipped up due to some imperfections in the free dives. “Year after year, my confidence and awareness grow.” And the results too, given the bronze at the 2022 European Championships in Rome and the excellent placings at the 2023 and 2024 World Championships. And the inclusion in the list of permanent divers (the regulars, who are joined at each stage by some wild cards) of Red Bull Cliff Diving.

And to think that Elisa initially played basketball like her sister. One day, however, a friend who was a diver invited her to watch one of her competitions and give it a try. “I was about 9 years old, but it wasn’t love at first sight. After a few months, I wanted to quit because I was suffering from the cold in the pool and the training sessions were a bit monotonous, given that they were focused on basic technique. Encouraged by my friend, I resisted and when I started competing, the competitor in me took over and from there I never gave up”. Thus began her journey through the Olympic diving disciplines, until her hometown of Trieste hosted a performance at great heights. “Seeing those athletes fly from 21 and 27 meters (the heights of the women’s and men’s platforms, ed.) took my breath away. I wanted to try it too. I took courage and approached Alessandro De Rose who trained in the same pool as me to ask him a lot of questions and ask him how I could get started”. From there the beginning of a journey and the birth of a project by the Italian Swimming Federation to cultivate young talents of great heights that also involved Barnaba and the Milanese Davide Baraldi. “Alessandro has always been my point of reference, a person who has lived this sport and with whom it is easy to have a sincere discussion and impartial advice”.

And with the guidance of the Belsasso-De Rose duo, Elisa arrives as an outsider at the Roman European Championships: “At the beginning I didn’t even realize I had won the bronze. I have always had the tendency to underestimate myself, but from that moment on I acquired much more confidence and awareness”. And her results have grown in step. Until she entered the Red Bull Cliff Diving team. “It’s another step forward in my journey, but I don’t want to get my hopes up because I still have a lot of work to do to remain among the best in the discipline. It’s clear that you no longer have the tension of waiting to know whether or not you will participate in the next stage and you are also more involved in the decisions, but I am the same as always” . A little stronger every day, dreaming of winning in Polignano like her coach.

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