A big cheering crowd, high level diving and a double touch down - Boston Harbour was the perfect setting for another glorious victory for English diver Gary Hunt, who secured his second overall World Series title today with a fourth consecutive win. In his homeland, American Kent De Mond came back to the podium after a hard season with only 2.15 points separating him and second-placed Artem Silchenko from Russia. This Saturday, cliff diving went urban: Instead of natural cliffs, divers used the newly installed platform on the cantilever roof of the Institute of Contemporary Art on Fan Pier, which is more than 80 feet above the water, for the tour’s sixth stop. A stoked crowd of 23.000 spectators surrounding the area around the venue watched the first East Coast stop in the United States in the Series’ three-year history.
After a storm-interrupted first round on Friday, the view from the 87-foot-high take-off board overlooking Boston’s waterfront was bright and made for spectacular diving action in the remaining three rounds on August 20. Reigning champion Gary Hunt hit a home run and confirmed his position as cliff diving’s top dog for 2011. “I’m really pleased with my diving today. Yesterday 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,“ says the 28-year-old Englishman, who is unbeatable in the overall standings one competition before the grand final. “I can go to Yalta now and enjoy it. I’ve never been there before and to have a little bit of the pressure taken off me.”
The stop in sports-mad Boston saw for the first time two rookies in the final round of the top six. Steven LoBue, from Indiana, strongly supported by family and friends, and Mexican Jorge Ferzuli got the chance to put down all four dives and placed 5th and 6th respectively. Another American found his way back to the podium after struggling with injury and inconsistency in the previous competitions – Kent De Mond, fourth overall in 2010. Artem Silchenko probably lost it in the third round when he only got average scores; however, today’s second place let the Russian move up one position in the overall standings (2nd, 71 pts) and overtake Czech diver Michal Navratil by seven points (3rd, 64 pts).
Competition organisers confirmed at the last but one stop that the top six athletes this year will advance automatically for the next World Series to be held in 2012. After today’s competition two athletes – Cyrille Oumedjkane (FRA) and Alain Kohl (LUX) – are tied in fifth position (45 pts), the still-recovering Colombian Orlando Duque is in seventh (40 pts) and American Kent De Mond is now within 10 points of the coveted top six.
Hassan Mouti has withdrawn from the final two competitions of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in order to continue his recovery. 22-year-old American David Colturi completed the five-man-strong US team and took his place in Saturday’s field of competitors.
Left and right of the 1930s-built ICA building, below the roof and on the water, the fiercely loyal sports fans of America’s sports capital welcomed the world’s most prestigious series of cliff diving competitions on the US mainland. The aesthetic three-second flights into the salty Bostonian water left them breathless.
The 2011 World Series will conclude in two weeks’ time off the Crimean shore in Yalta, Ukraine, and will once more guarantee a tight battle for the top six until the season’s very last dive.
The stop in sports-mad Boston saw for the first time two rookies in the final round of the top six. Steven LoBue, from Indiana, strongly supported by family and friends, and Mexican Jorge Ferzuli got the chance to put down all four dives and placed 5th and 6th respectively. Another American found his way back to the podium after struggling with injury and inconsistency in the previous competitions – Kent De Mond, fourth overall in 2010. Artem Silchenko probably lost it in the third round when he only got average scores; however, today’s second place let the Russian move up one position in the overall standings (2nd, 71 pts) and overtake Czech diver Michal Navratil by seven points (3rd, 64 pts).
Competition organisers confirmed at the last but one stop that the top six athletes this year will advance automatically for the next World Series to be held in 2012. After today’s competition two athletes – Cyrille Oumedjkane (FRA) and Alain Kohl (LUX) – are tied in fifth position (45 pts), the still-recovering Colombian Orlando Duque is in seventh (40 pts) and American Kent De Mond is now within 10 points of the coveted top six.
Hassan Mouti has withdrawn from the final two competitions of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in order to continue his recovery. 22-year-old American David Colturi completed the five-man-strong US team and took his place in Saturday’s field of competitors.
Left and right of the 1930s-built ICA building, below the roof and on the water, the fiercely loyal sports fans of America’s sports capital welcomed the world’s most prestigious series of cliff diving competitions on the US mainland. The aesthetic three-second flights into the salty Bostonian water left them breathless.
The 2011 World Series will conclude in two weeks’ time off the Crimean shore in Yalta, Ukraine, and will once more guarantee a tight battle for the top six until the season’s very last dive.
Results Stop 6
1. Gary Hunt | GBR | 463.20 pts
2. Artem Silchenko | RUS | 430.95
3. Kent De Mond | USA | 428.80 pts
4. Alain Kohl | LUX | 408.40 pts
5. Steven LoBue | USA | 375.30 pts
6. Jorge Ferzuli | MEX | 370.25 pts
7. Jonathan Paredes | MEX | 282.45 pts
8. Slava Polyeshchuk | UKR | 266.70 pts
9. Andy Jones | USA | 263.90 pts
10. Cyrille Oumedjkane | FRA | 259.80 pts
11. Kyle Mitrione | USA | 275.35 pts
12. Michal Navratil | CZE | 248.80 pts
13. Sasha Kutsenko | UKR | 210.60 pts
14. David Colturi | USA | 175.25 pts
15. Hassan Mouti | FRA | 77.40 pts
Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2011. New divers, spectacular locations and creative tricks in the air – the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series has come up with a few innovations for the third edition in 2011. Between March and September, the world’s best high divers fight for the title of World Series champion in seven challenging competitions. For the breathtaking three-second flights between take-off and hitting the water smoothly from a height of at least 26.5 metres, extraordinary natural and demanding urban venues have been chosen: kicking off in March in Rapa Nui (CHI), the World Series returns to Mexico (Yucatán) in April. The first competition on European soil takes place in Greece (Athens) in May, followed by France (La Rochelle) and Italy (Malcesine) in successive months. After a trip to the United States (Boston) in August, the grand final is hosted by the Ukraine (Yalta) on September 4. Red Bull Cliff Diving competitions are judged by five international judges with scores awarded according to the degree of difficulty and execution of the dive.
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