Gary Hunt set a new record after securing a 10 on his last dive in Sydney. He secured his 10th Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series title in a thrilling season finale as local hero Rhiannan Iffland collected her sixth King Kahekili Trophy in front of 18,000 cheering Aussies. Hunt, who had been forced to settle for a supporting role in the early stops of the World Series, excelled as the competition progressed. In the end he was able to prove to the younger generation that, even at 38 years old, he is still number 1 on the 27 meter platform.
pitted against his two rivals, the British Aidan Heslop and the Romanian Catalin Preda, Hunt brought together everything he learned in his 92 World Series events to prevail in the final dive. Hunt, who made 18 dives out of 10 on the season, revealed: “Going into the season I felt a bit in the shade seeing all the young guys doing massive dives. It showed in the results and I felt like I had to rebuild my confidence and start over to get back to my best self. With such a tight season, finishing on top couldn’t be better.”
In his first season as a permanent diver, Heslop, 20, made it clear that he is next in line to the throne with two wins and three podium finishes, including a runner-up finish at Sydney Harbor (where he secured second place overall). Preda may have fallen short in their maiden title challenge, but completing the podium in the final means the 31-year-old repeats his third place overall finish from last season. As for Iffland, he had already secured his sixth title at the previous stop in Italy, but the dream of a storybook victory in his homeland meant not taking his foot off the accelerator until the very last moment.
With Canada’s Molly Carlson pressing back, the Aussie had to be at her best to post 30 wins from 37 starts before being crowned once again in front of her friends and family. The 31-year-old cliff diver from Newcastle said: “It’s my sixth title and it’s very special to win it at home. I knew I would hold onto the King Kahekili trophy regardless of the outcome, so I guess that took the pressure off me a little bit. But he still had a job to do. I wanted to put on a good show in front of my home crowd.”
Twenty-four-year-old Carlson, in his first year as a permanent diver, secured a sixth-place finish for the highest total score since his shock season-opening victory in Boston. Completing the podium in Sydney was the impressive Eleanor Smart, a result that sealed third place overall for the American, a personal best for the 26-year-old who made her debut in 2017. There was also an emotional farewell for Adriana Jiménez, one of Cliff Diving’s most beloved athletes. At 37, the Mexican finished her outstanding career with a fifth place against the iconic Australian backdrop.
With 762 jumps in eight competitions in North America, Europe and Australia, Not only were champions crowned, but the eight female and male divers who go on to become “permanent divers” at the 2023 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series based on this year’s World Championship standings were also confirmed. In addition to the three female leaders, the Australian Xantheia Pennisi, the Canadian Jessica Macaulay, the American Meili Carpenter, the German Iris Schmidbauer and the independent athlete Yana Nestsiarava will be back. On the men’s side, Nikita Fedotov (IAT), Romanian Constantin Popovici, Italian Alessandro De Rose, American James Lichtenstein and Colombian Miguel Garcia will compete alongside the top three men of 2022.
Results – Stop: Australia (Sydney)
WOMEN
Rhiannan Iffland AUS – 387.75pts
Molly Carlson CAN – 370.70
Eleanor Smart USA – 339.10
MENS
Gary Hunt FRA – 458.15pts
Aidan Heslop GBR – 434.60
Catalin Preda ROU – 429.95
Final classification (after 8 stops out of 8):
WOMEN
1. Rhiannan Iffland AUS – 1560pts
2. Molly Carlson CAN-1270
3. Eleanor Smart USA – 820
MENS
1. Gary Hunt FRA – 1240pts
2. Aidan Heslop GBR-1116
3. Catalin Preda ROU – 1130