Great Britain’s Aidan Heslop leaped to victory at the third stop of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in Polignano a Mare on Sunday, posting one of the highest scoring single dives ever to claim his third career win. In the women’s competition, Australia’s dominant Rhiannan Iffland picked up her third straight victory of the year to extend her lead at the top of the standings.
Heslop, who began the day down in 10th place, crept into the top three with a stunning third round dive from the 27m platform. Then, armed with his Forward 4 Somersaults 3½ Twists Pike – a weapon that has been hit and miss for him over the last 12 months – the 21-year-old powered into a commanding lead in front of 40,000 sun-kissed spectators, before nervously watching his rivals attempt to reel him in.
“Constantin has been a bit of a powerhouse this season and I didn’t give myself a very good start yesterday. I mean, 10th place out of 12 is really not where I want to be but managing to bring it back just over two dives to first place, 10th to 1st. Honestly, it’s probably the best comeback I’ve ever done in my life and I couldn’t be happier with the two dives I’ve done today”, said Heslop, who made his debut in this location at the age of 16 back in 2018.
This victory comes on the back of his worst result in five years – a ninth place in Paris two weeks ago – giving the Brit a much-needed boost in the overall standings, where he leaps from sixth place into second. Romania’s Constantin Popovici, despite missing out on a hat-trick here, maintains a healthy 200-point lead at the top of the standings thanks to a second-place finish. His fellow countryman, Catalin Preda, rounded out the podium in Italy and also grabbed an extra 10 World Series points for the best dive of the weekend.
Meanwhile, the reigning and record 10-time champion, Gary Hunt, is now officially enduring his worst start ever to a season. The Frenchman followed up two fourth place finishes in Boston and Paris with a lowly eighth on the Adriatic Coast, leaving him 300 points adrift of Popovici in his quest for an 11th King Kahekili Trophy.
Over on the 21m platform, it was another case of déjà vu as six-time champion Iffland claimed victory ahead of Canada’s Molly Carlson; the eighth time in a row that the pair have posted a one-two. The Aussie was a long way from her brilliant best – this was her lowest total score in the last 15 stops where four rounds have been completed – but nonetheless it’s now 23 victories in the last 24 World Series events.
“I think it’s definitely not a fluke. Like, it’s been many, many years of hard luck to get to this point today. But I think it’s just the way that I am approaching the competition now and I’m kind of finding the positive energy from the results might carry on and build momentum on each event. I guess, it’s just finding to cope with the pressure and being able to feel free up there and enjoy the process.” said Iffland, who grabbed a 10-point bonus for the women’s best dive in Italy, her 40th World Series event.
Despite Iffland’s 100% record this season, it’s a credit to Carlson’s consistency that the women’s title fight is still very much alive. 130 points separate the top two in the overall standings, and with three stops to go everything is still to play for.
Completing the podium in Italy was Australian Xantheia Pennisi who, after missing the Paris stop through injury, picked up where she left off in Boston with another third-place finish.
After three events in the space of four weeks, the athletes will now enjoy a break to rest, recover and recharge before making their way to the Land of the Rising Sun, where the World Championships will be followed a week later by the season’s fourth stop on August 3. Seven years after the World Series made its one and only visit to Japan, at the Shirahama cliffs, the divers will this time be showing off their skills and fighting for crucial championship points against the stunning backdrop of Takachiho Gorge in Miyazaki prefecture.
Results Red Bull Cliff Diving Polignano a Mare
Women
- Rhiannan Iffland AUS – 345.85pts.
- Molly Carlson CAN – 327.70
- Xantheia Pennisi AUS – 308.00
- Meili Carpenter USA – 291.30
- Iris Schmidbauer GER – 281.85
- Eleanor Smart USA – 267.10
- Maria Paula Quintero (W) COL – 262.55
- Elisa Cosetti (W) ITA – 257.80
- Aimee Harrison (W) CAN – 220.20
- Yana Nestsiarava IAT – 102.70
Men
- Aidan Heslop GBR – 448.60pts.
- Constantin Popovici ROU – 439.40
- Catalin Preda ROU – 432.50
- Jonathan Paredes (W) MEX – 418.45
- Carlos Gimeno (W) ESP – 393.75
- Oleksiy Prygorov UKR – 391.35
- Nikita Fedotov IAT– 381.05
- Gary Hunt FRA – 373.55
- Sergio Guzman (W) MEX – 362.10
- James Lichtenstein USA – 356.75
- Miguel Garcia COL – 319.15
- Davide Baraldi (W) IAT – 300.00
Standings (after 3 of 6 stops)
Women
- Rhiannan Iffland AUS – 620pts.
- Molly Carlson CAN – 490
- Iris Schmidbauer GER – 284
- Xantheia Pennisi AUS – 260
- Meili Carpenter USA – 252
Men
- Constantin Popovici ROU – 410pts.
- Aidan Heslop GBR – 169
- Carlos Gimeno (W) ESP – 252
- Gary Hunt FRA – 220
- Nikita Fedotov IAT– 206
This piece was prepared online by Panuruji Kenta, Publisher, SEVENSEAS Media