“Determined to win and to perfection,” this is how Randall Willars Valdez was described by renowned diving coach and talent scout Francisco Javier Ferreiro Sanz.

Following the Rosarito native’s victory at the 2025 Diving World Cup held in Guadalajara, names of the coaches who have been part of Randall’s professional development began to emerge. One of them is precisely Javier Ferreiro, who was responsible for his early training years.

The expert talent scout recalled that it was at a pool in Tijuana’s CREA facility where he discovered Randall when he was just six years old.

“I had some differences with his parents because they wanted him to be a swimmer, but I told them no, he has to be a diver, he has potential,” he explained.

From then on, Randall embarked on a long and intense journey to develop his aquatic skills, quickly achieving results and winning medals in local, regional, and national competitions.

“He always said he was going to be a champion, that he would make it to the Olympics and win medals,” Ferreiro recalled.

Among the many anecdotes, he remembers one day when Randall had an accident during training. He fell headfirst onto the springboard, causing a skull injury that required intervention from Red Cross paramedics.

“When they were about to administer anesthesia to stitch him up, he asked for them to sew him without it, and they gave him 12 stitches. Afterward, he put on a cap and started training with the wound, until a doctor told him to stop,” he said.

“That’s Randall, determined, strong, brave, with a winner’s mentality. He cries with frustration when a dive doesn’t go well, but he doesn’t give up and keeps training until he perfects it,” Ferreiro added.

Javier Ferreiro continued to coach Randall until he was 10 years old, when national coaches saw his potential and brought him to Mexico to continue his professional training, marking the beginning of what is shaping up to be a remarkable career, with Randall on track to be considered Mexico’s best diver.