Raw and Rugged Cliff Diving Adventure in Northern Ireland 🥶

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Great Britain’s Aidan Heslop and Rhiannan Iffland of Australia overpowered their rivals in stunning fashion at the fourth stop of the 2024 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series on Saturday, both scoring victory by a huge 46-point margin at Causeway Coast.

With two rounds directly off the rugged cliffs and two off the platforms across three days of competition, it was Heslop who excelled in the cold, wet and windy conditions, and victory never looked in doubt following his thunderous third round dive – a Forward 4 Somersaults 3½ Twists Pike for which he earned 151.05 points. An equally impressive effort in the final round secured a commanding victory for the Brit, with Romania’s Constantin Popovici 46.10 points behind in second place.

“I’m so happy. I have a few wins under my belt, but this is my first home win and hopefully I can bag a few more,” said 22-year-old Heslop. “It hasn’t been the best weather over the past few days, so I think I had a little bit of an advantage there being a Brit. I was in a good headspace all day and I’m just excited that I managed to get it done.”

James Lichtenstein of the USA continued his consistent streak to collect a fourth podium spot in four stops this season, maintaining his position atop the overall leaderboard. He is the first diver in history to hold top spot at the midway point of a season without winning a competition. The heat is on, however, as Popovici and Heslop – both with two wins each now this season – sit just one and two points respectively behind the American in what is turning into a fascinating fight for the King Kahekili trophy.

Meanwhile, Mexico’s Jonathan Paredes collected a bonus championship point for the best dive of the weekend – a Forward 3½ Somersaults ½ Twist Pike in the first round.

For Iffland, the dominant force in the women’s competition over the last eight years, it was another display of total control from start to finish. The 32-year-old picked up 9.0s from the judges in each of the first three rounds, before a huge Back 3 Somersaults 2 Twists Pike in the final round sealed a comprehensive victory over Ginni van Katwijk of the Netherlands, who herself claimed a career-best second place and her first ever podium. Canada’s Molly Carlson completed the women’s top three at this first ever stop in Northern Ireland.

“I’m just getting onto a roll in competitions now and really tapping into that good place when I’m standing up there before the dives,” said Iffland, who finished with a season-best total score of 371.90 points. “I’m not going to slow down between now and the next stop and I’m really looking forward to it.”

In the overall standings, Iffland also picked up an extra point for the competition’s best dive – an Inward 3 Somersaults ½ Twist Tuck in Round 3. She extends her lead to 19 points over nearest rival Carlson, edging her closer to a record-extending eight King Kahekili trophy.

Despite the notoriously difficult conditions that accompany a cliff diving competition in this part of the world, three fresh new faces were brave enough to make their World Series debut this weekend. Spain’s Paula Gilabert, Pierrick Schafer of Switzerland and Great Britain’s Archie Biggin all took their first leaps on the stunning Causeway Coast, with 16-year-old Biggin becoming the youngest diver ever to compete in the sport.

The world’s best cliff divers can now enjoy a three-week break before they head to Oslo, Norway on August 8-10, where the second half of the season will get underway from the longest platform in World Series history.

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