A person who is afraid of heights excelling in the sport of diving is like a vegan winning a hot dog eating contest.

This is what makes Langley resident Kailee Lingham's performance at the 2010 Speedo Junior Nationals diving competition in Winnipeg pretty remarkable.

The Fraser Valley Diving Club (FVDC) member placed fourth in the women's Group C (12-13 age group) one-metre finals and 16th in the three-metre finals during the July 8-11 event.

Asked if she's afraid of heights, 13-year-old Kailee quickly nodded her head, as a smile crossed her face.

"Yes," she said.

She overcomes the anxiety by focusing on the task at hand.

"I just don't really think about it," she said. "You need to be brave to learn new dives. You practise dives that lead up to the new ones, and you pretty much know how to do it before you go up and try it."

Diving can be viewed as a hybrid between gymnastics and swimming, two sports Kailee enjoys. She is also drawn to the camaraderie among fellow divers.

"It's fun and friendly - everyone's nice," she said.

Kailee's main obstacle in Winnipeg was pre-dive jitters.

"Just getting over my nervousness," she said. "There were all the top divers in Canada [there]."

Kailee's mom Helen said the results at the nationals were a pleasant surprise.

"I sort of thought she would come top 12," Helen said. "When you come in the top 12 that's when they award. This is her second year at nationals. Last year she came 16th out of 17 [in her age group]. This year there was a pretty big field, about 24 in her [one metre] event, so I was surprised to see her come fourth."

Joining Kailee in Winnipeg were 10-year-old FVDC teammates Joel Harrison and Kurt Breure.

Joel placed 11th in Men's Group D platform finals, ninth in one metre finals, and 15th in three metre finals.

His mom Louise said Joel had a strong meet.

"We had no idea what to expect from nationals, so we were thrilled that Joel made the finals," Louise said.

Kurt, meanwhile, dove to 19th spot in men's Group D three-metre finals, a remarkable result given that this is his first year of diving.

Next up for Kailee is this weekend's BC Summer Games. Diving will take place at Walnut Grove Pool, where she will be plunging for medals. Her most recent showing has lifted her confidence heading into the Games competition.

"The nationals showed me that I can do well," she said. "I'll be going for double gold on the one metre [and] three metre."

Kailee is part of a large contingent of FVDC members at the Games. Also taking part are Ashleigh Wiebe, Emma Montgomery, Alison MacDonald, Nathan Jacobs, Andrew and Michael Baerg, and Mikayla Fetter.

tlandreville@langleyadvance.com