Alas, it’s too late to enter the 2011 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. The competition is now under way so if your midlife crisis is pointing you in the direction of the nearest cliff hold off until next year and apply for the qualifying rounds.
Now in it’s third year this extreme sporting contest attracts the world’s high diving elite. The competition involves performing aerial acrobatics while accelerating to speeds in excess of 85 kph in three seconds from a height of at least 27 metres. Not for the faint hearted this one!
Having passed the qualification rounds the twelve competitors are required to perform four dives during each of the seven heats. The top six divers after three dives go on to perform a final dive. A panel of judges award points for take off, position in the air and water entry. A complex aerial manoeuvre will score highly and with no room for error there is intense pressure for every dive to be inch perfect.
Current Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series champion is the UK’s Gary Hunt. The 26 year old from Southampton won four of the six heats in 2010 and was crowned champion on Hawaii’s Big Island last September.
Heat one of this year’s competition was held on the remote Pacific Island of Rapa Nui. The experienced divers set the standard for the series with the 2009 champion, 36 year old Colombian Orlando Duque taking first place. Russian Artem Silchenko came in second and the UK’s Gary hunt took third place on the podium.
Heat two, Mexico. A 27 metre dive from bright sunlight into a dark cave in the Yucatan jungle. Attributed mystical powers by the Mayans this ‘well of sacrifice’ provided a stunning location for the divers to show off their skills. Orlando Duque on top form earning the highest ever score for a single dive, including two tens from the judges and taking first place for the heat. Second place went to Gary Hunt with Slava Polyeshchuk from Ukraine coming third
The tour moves to Europe with Greece playing host to stage three. Orlando Duque is unable to continue in the competition having injured himself while skydiving. Also missing from this stage was Frenchman Hassin Mouti who ruptured a lung during a bad landing in training.
Lake Voullagmeni, Athens was the venue and a crowd of 9000 spectators turned out to watch. Gary Hunt got off to a bad start lying tenth after the first round of dives. He soon made up for it and scored a ten during dive three which earned him the highest score for a single dive in this years competition. Gary went on to take first place and climbed to the top of the series table. Artem Silchenko took second place with Czech diver Michal Navratil earning his first podium position in third.
A wet and very windy weekend in La Rochelle made life difficult for the divers but did not deter a record crowd of 70,000 turning out to watch the competition. Gary Hunt performed a stunning set of dives earning first place on the podium ahead of Czech Michal Navratil in second and Alain Kohl from Luxembourg in third. We were in La Rochelle for the event and you can read our review here.
The Scaliger Castle, Malcesine was the impressive location for stage five of the competition. A crowd of 15,000 headed to the resort on Lake Garda to catch the action. The spectators lined the beach, took to their boats and surfboards to watch what turned out to be the closest battle of this season.
The scores were tight right up to the final round of dives but once again it was Brit Gary Hunt who took the top honours. “I feel really happy. I thought I had blown it there with the last dive, but it seemed to be enough. Today Artem showed that he is an incredible diver and Michal is the most improved diver. There are lots of divers that can catch up”.
Russia’s Artem Silchenko finished second ahead of Czech Michal Navratil and they continue their fight for second place in the overall standings. Gary now looks certain to retain his title in the 2011 championships.
Boston, August 20th Gary Hunt completes another great set of dives to take first place and confirm that he is this years Red Bull Cliff Diving World Champion. ‘I got off to a bit of a shaky start but today I just got better and better. It’s four in a row so I really feel on top of my game, I can go to Yalta now and enjoy it” said Gary, who is now unbeatable in the overall standings. Artem Silchenko took second place with American Kent de Mond stepping onto the podium in front of his home crowd.
And so to Yalta, Ukraine. 15,000 people turn out to watch the action at Swallow’s Nest Castle, a stunning location for the grand finale of this year’s series. Artem Silchenko breaks a personal and series record with a winning score of over 500 points for his dives. 2011 champion Gary Hunt takes second place with Michal Navratil coming third.
The top six divers from this year’s competition automatically qualify for the 2012 series. A qualifying competition will begin yearly next year to decide who joins them.
To see how it’s done travel to one of the stages and join the thousands of spectators who turn out to witness this amazing sport. You can keep up with all the events by visiting the Red Bull Cliff Diving website.
All photos copyright protected, Red Bull Content Pool. Photos by Dean Treml, Alfredo Escobar, Romino Armato.
