The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series returns to Mostar for the milestone tenth time, and the iconic Old Bridge showed in the first round why it is one of the most spectacular stages of this sport. However, fans of extreme sports can expect new thrills today, as the dives will take place from the platform set up overnight.
Thursday marked the first day of the competition in Mostar, and as usual, the world’s best male and female divers jumped directly from the stone arch of the Old Bridge, a 21.7-meter-tall structure under UNESCO protection. After a day of high temperatures, the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series stars dived into the cold emerald waters of the Neretva River.
The results of the first round at the penultimate stop on the calendar were tight in both rankings, and practically all title candidates remained deadlocked in the fight. Rounds of greater difficulty await.
The differences were especially tight in the female competition, as only 2.6 points separated the top seven divers following the first-round dives.
To recall, the Australian Xantheia Pennisi and the Canadian Molly Carlson shared first place with identical scores of 66.30. The two of them performed dives calmly from the historic bridge, gaining an advantage over the competition. Following her three victories in the World Series in Florida, the American Kaylea Arnett continued with impressive form and took third place. Four-time Mostar champion and competition leader Rhiannan Iffland kept pace with the leaders and is currently tied for fourth with Simone Leathead and Ginni van Katwijk. The German, Maike Halbisch, had the honor of opening the competition with a dive from the Old Bridge in her second performance in the World Series. The Swiss, Morgane Herculano, also experienced the dive from the iconic bridge for the first time, and a large audience was delighted with Leathead’s great dive, who received a 9.0 score from the judging panel on Thursday afternoon. Considering that just a few points separate female divers, and optional dives are yet to follow, the battle for the winning throne in the female competition remains open.
The male competition also proved to be equally competitive, and the World Series veterans and the upcoming challengers took turns during the introductory round. Three-time Mostar champion Gary Hunt used his Old Bridge experience and took the leading position after the first round. His elegant dive (Forward 2 Somersaults ½ Twist) gained him 66.30 points and leadership after the first day, but considering that less than three points separate the four top divers, that advantage is far from safe.
The Ukrainian, Oleksiy Prygorov, is in second place after his calm introductory dive, while the Colombian Miguel Garcia and the Spaniard Carlos Gimeno share third place with identical 63.70 points.
The championship leader Aidan Heslop is also in a tight race for the top. A wildcard diver, who is after his second World Series title following his return after an injury, opened the competition with a controlled performance and currently shares fifth place with the former winner of the Mostar stop, Constantin Popovici, a home winner James Lichtenstein and the Mexican Sergio Guzman.
Popovici achieved this result despite a difficult arrival in Bosnia and Herzegovina, after travel delays forced him to arrive in Mostar in the early morning hours.
After completing the first round, it can be said that there are no clear favorites. The first round set the stage for an incredibly interesting second day of the competition, when it is expected that dives will lead to a first real division in a fight for victory ahead of the final round on Saturday. The platform was set up overnight. Women will jump from a height of 21 meters and men from 27 meters.
The second round starts at 3:15 p.m., and those unable to enjoy the dives near the Old Bridge will be able to watch it on the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series YouTube Channel. The final round on Saturday will also be streamed on YouTube and via Red Bull TV and Hayat TV platforms.
When it comes to the overall standings in the World Series championship, in the top 5 male competition before the Mostar stop were Aidan Heslop (52 points), James Lichtenstein (44 points), Constantin Popovici (35 points), Catalin Preda (32 points), and Jonathan Paredes (23 points), and in the female competition Rhiannan Iffland ( 57 points), Simone Leathead (37 points), Molly Carlson ( 33 points), Lisa Faulkner (33 points) and Kaylea Arnett (31 points).
Don’t forget that a special train service departs from Sarajevo towards Mostar at 11:00 a.m., with the return to the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina at 7:00 p.m, and the tickets can be purchased via the ENTRIO service.
A musical program is also announced for Friday and Saturday in four locations in Mostar, which include Bijeli Bar, Marshall, Lazy Bar Stage on the plateau under the Old Bridge, and Alibaba. Divanhana will perform in Bijeli Bar on Saturday.
