World record holder Iris Selene Alvarez was forced to give up her beloved cliff diving after suffering a severe back injury.

However, she has found new ways to excel, and is determined that her efforts will make a difference to others.

She had been recognized at the age of 12 as the youngest person to dive off La Quebrada cliffs at Acapulco on Mexico's Pacific coast.

The Guinness World Records certificate awarded for her 18-meter dive five years ago hangs on the wall at her home, but it has now been joined by medals and awards won in a different sport - martial arts.

Two years ago, as Alvarez was practicing martial arts with friends, she was flipped into the air, and when she came to rest she found she could not move.

"Hospital tests showed that the fall had caused a severe back injury, which prevented me from returning to cliff diving," she said.

After a period of therapy, the teenager enrolled at the National University of Pedagogy in Acapulco to study medicine.

Substitute teacher

Though injured while practicing martial arts, she is not afraid of the sport, and now works as a substitute teacher at an after-school martial arts class. Her personality and leadership abilities have made her popular with the children.

Alvarez has other plans, such as promoting an initiative in her home state of Guerrero to help athletically gifted children to develop by providing them with the programs and facilities they need.

She says cliff diving helped to shape her character and influence her major decisions. Her younger sister, who has just turned 15, is already married, but she said her marriage will have to wait until "I achieve my personal goals".

Though she can no longer dive, she still cheers on her cliff-diving father and others as they jump off the crags into the churning waters below.

Young people should be encouraged to take part in more outdoor sports, and discouraged from spending too much time in front of a computer screen," she said. "Physical activity can really change a person's life."

(China Daily 11/22/2014 page10)