Courtesy: Red Bull Cliff Diving
Australia’s Rhiannan Iffland chalked up the 47th win of her Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series career in Copenhagen on Saturday afternoon, tying Gary Hunt‘s all-time record in just her 58th competition. Constantin Popovici, meanwhile, earned an important first victory of the season from the men’s 28 m platform, making it back-to-back wins for the Romanian from the iconic cantilevered roof of the city’s Opera House.
Iffland, edged out at the previous stop in St. Petersburg by American Kaylea Arnett, bounced back in style to add another landmark moment to her already record-breaking career. In front of a packed-out harbour – 62,000 spectators watched the action across the day – the 9-time champion equalled cliff diving legend Hunt’s record in 43 fewer starts than the Frenchman required to reach the same milestone.
“Wow, 47 wins, that’s incredible. I guess it’s going to be a battle between me and Gary going into the next couple of events,” Iffland said after her record-equalling win. “The energy was electric out there on the platform – this city is one of my favourites in the world. I’m just super-stoked, I can’t believe I did it one more time.”
Once again though, the 34-year-old Australian was forced to produce her very best form from the 21m platform, this time by Canada’s Simone Leathead, who is enjoying her best-ever start to a season. The 23-year-old went toe-to-toe with the champion from the very first round on Thursday afternoon, before producing the dive of the competition in Round 4 – an Inward 3 Somersaults ½ Twist Pike – which earned her a string of 9s from the judges and cranked up the pressure on the reigning champion.
In typical fashion, Iffland stepped confidently onto the platform for the final dive, waved at the crowds, then wasted no time in reeling off another ripped entry to take the win by a tight 5-point margin.
“The pressure was on and I think the fact that I put down that first round dive for 9s, it was a confidence booster and carried me all the way through,” Iffland said. “Each event I’m getting a little bit older and sorer each time, and the girls are really stepping it up. It’s so cool to see and exciting – to win a competition now you have to turn up and hit all four dives.”
This victory – her second of the season – means Iffland now holds a commanding 20pt lead in the overall standings, while Leathead moves up two places into second. Canada’s Molly Carlson, fifth in Copenhagen, sits in third overall on the same points as American Lisa Faulkner, who produced another accomplished performance in the Danish capital to complete the podium on the day – her third top three finish in just six starts.
Up on the men’s 28 m platform, a tightly packed field after three rounds looked set to battle it out in an exciting finale. Aidan Heslop and Popovici duly got the ball rolling – the Brit laying down a huge Forward 4 Somersaults 3½ Twists Pike to surge into the lead, before his Romanian rival replied with an even more spectacular Armstand Back 3½ Somersaults 3 Twists Pike to edge ahead.
With St. Petersburg winner James Lichtenstein and competition front-runner Catalin Preda still to dive, the scene was set for an exciting and nail-biting conclusion. But neither the American nor the Romanian could apply the required finish and, two huge splashes later, it was Popovici who was celebrating back-to-back wins at the place where he made his debut in 2018.
“The first win of the season, I’m really happy,” said Popovici, who has now moved into joint-second place on the list of all-time men’s victories. “It’s always super-nice to be back here. My first-ever event was here, my last event here was a win, and now another win. I hope we can come back again!”
Victory in Denmark sees the 37-year-old leap from sixth to third place in the overall standings, albeit still nine points behind second-placed Lichtenstein and 17 points behind leader Heslop.
Despite only picking up 5s from the judges for the highest Degree of Difficulty dive in the competition in the final round, Preda’s earlier supremacy meant he held onto third spot on the day. The 34-year-old can also take some extra consolation after earning a bonus championship point for executing the best dive of the weekend – a second round Forward 3 Somersaults 1½ Twists Pike, for which he earned two 9s and an 8.5.
From the modern, state-of-the-art setting of the Copenhagen Opera House, the cliff diving elite will next take a step back in time when they return to the historic city of Mostar and its famous old bridge for the season’s fourth stop in five weeks’ time.
Re-watch what happened and peek behind the scenes in the “More than a dive” episode from Copenhagen here on Friday, July 3.
Results Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series Copenhagen
WOMEN
1- Rhiannan Iffland AUS – 361.55pts.
2- Simone Leathead CAN – 356.05
3- Lisa Faulkner USA – 353.90
4- Ginni van Katwijk NED – 334.30
5- Molly Carlson CAN – 321.00
6- Xantheia Pennisi AUS – 313.10
7- Kaylea Arnett USA – 279.00
8- Stella Forsyth AUS (W) – 270.20
9- Paula Gilabert ESP (W) – 261.45
10- Meili Carpenter USA (W) – 224.85
11- Nelli Chukanivska UKR – 222.75
12- Annika Bornebusch DEN (W) – 203.70
MEN
1- Constantin Popovici ROU – 420.80pts.
2- Aidan Heslop (W) GBR – 416.65
3- Catalin Preda ROU – 390.80
4- James Lichtenstein USA – 372.30
5- Gary Hunt FRA – 368.05
6- Sergio Guzman (W) MEX – 366.40
7- Michael Foisy (W) CAN – 329.50
8- Yolotl Martinez MEX (W) – 328.80
9- Oleksiy Prygorov UKR – 327.30
10- Nikita Fedotov ARM (W) – 304.45
11- Carlos Gimeno ESP – 301.00
12- Jonathan Paredes MEX – 51.30
Standings (after 3 of 6 events)
WOMEN
1- Rhiannan Iffland AUS – 57pts.
2- Simone Leathead CAN – 37
3- Molly Carlson CAN – 33
4- Lisa Faulkner USA – 33
5- Kaylea Arnett USA – 31
MEN
1- Aidan Heslop (W) GBR – 52pts.
2- James Lichtenstein USA – 44
3- Constantin Popovici ROU – 35
4- Catalin Preda ROU – 32
5- Jonathan Paredes MEX – 23
