HIGH DIVING – Molly Carlson of Canada and Constantin Popovici of Romania were yesterday crowned champions of the Bahrain leg in the World Aquatics High Diving World Cup 2024.
The historic two-day event – held in the kingdom for the first time ever – wrapped up with plenty of excitement at a special location at Bahrain Financial Harbour (BFH), with the world’s elite high divers making a splash into open water.
Carlson was joined on the women’s podium by compatriot and silver-medallist Simone Leathead and American Kaylea Arnett who claimed the bronze.
Popovici captured the men’s gold medal ahead of runner-up James Lichtenstein of the US and Aidan Heslop of Great Britain, who won silver and bronze, respectively.
Supreme Council for Youth and Sport (SCYS) first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority (GSA) chairman, and Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa was on hand to award winners their medals.
World Aquatics president and Olympic Council of Asia director general Dr Husain Al Musallam was also present, as were GSA vice-chairman Shaikh Salman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, BOC vice-president Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, GSA CEO Dr Abdulrahman Askar, BOC secretary general Faris Al Kooheji, BOC executive director and event director Ahmed Abdulghaffar, and other Bahrain and World Aquatics officials.
Carlson secured first place after finishing the event with a total of 324.20 points. She ended the first day in second, ranked behind four-time world champion Rhiannan Iffland of Australia, but was able to overtake her rival on the standings with her final two attempts yesterday, in which she scored 76.50 and 96.90.
“I just wanted to do two more good dives,” Carlson told the GDN after her victory. “It’s one dive at a time in this sport and you never know what’s going to happen till that last round. That proved true today – Rhiannan had a good week but she made a small mistake that cost her a medal, so I’m honoured to stand up there with the gold.”
Carlson came away with her second World Aquatics High Diving World Cup title, adding to her maiden gold medal which she won last year in the US.
“I think I like world cups,” laughed the 25-year-old. “This happens to be my favourite.”
Carlson ended the competition in Bahrain 16.40 points clear of Leathead, who had 307.80 points. She scored 54.50 in her third dive of the meeting but then rose several places on the rankings with a 95.00 in her finale, securing her podium spot.
Arnett took third with 306.40 points. She posted an 80.60 score in the third round and then closed her participation with a 78.00.
On the distaff, Popovici bagged the second gold medal of his career from a World Aquatics High Diving World Cup event. He too won his first title in the US last year alongside Carlson.
The 35-year-old finished with 408.00 points to claim the top spot amongst the men. He posted 91.80 points in his third attempt yesterday, and then scored 123.00 points on his final dive.
The 2023 world champion led by 4.20 points after the first day, and then did enough on day two to come away with the win.
“I didn’t look at the standings because I didn’t want to think about it,” Popovici told the GDN of his approach to yesterday’s action.
“Everything comes to your mind – like how many points you are ahead and what you need to win and things like that. I just didn’t think about it. I knew I was top three after the first day, and today I was just aiming for my good dives that I know I can do.
“The third round was really good, the fourth round not as great, but it was good enough to win, so I’m happy about it.”
Lichtenstein followed a narrow second just 1.80 points behind with a 406.20 total. He had a score of 90.00 for the third round and then 127.20 on his last outing yesterday. Reigning world champion Heslop took third with 403.80 points, scoring 86.40 and 139.50 in his last two dives.
“I’ve been training pretty hard – the mind and the body – and then just went up there, let go, and trusted my training,” Lichtenstein said.
The World Aquatics High Diving World Cup event in Bahrain was held under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad’s representative for humanitarian work and youth affairs and SCYS chairman Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
It acted as a qualifier for the World Aquatics Championships, which is set for next year in Singapore. A second leg of the World Aquatics High Diving World Cup 2024 will be taking place in Brazil from October 11 to 13.
The kingdom’s stop marked the first time ever that a leading international high-diving competition was held on the island, and it was also Bahrain’s maiden competition under World Aquatics, the international governing body for aquatic sports.
The women competed from a 20-metre platform while the men dove from 27 metres. The structure from where they took their dives was built on a bridge at BFH, which is a first for the sport wherever it has been held in the world.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
FINAL TOP 10
WOMEN: 1 Molly Carlson, Canada, 324.20; 2 Simone Leathead, Canada, 307.80; 3 Kaylea Arnett, US, 306.40; 4 Xantheia Pennisi, Australia, 305.05; 5 Meili Carpenter, US, 298.95; 6 Maya Kelly, US, 298.10; 7 Elisa Cosetti, Italy, 295.10; 8 Maria Paula Quintero, Colombia, 294.70; 9 Rhiannan Iffland, Australia, 292.70; 10 Ginni van Katwijk, Netherlands, 273.25.
MEN: 1 Constantin Popovici, Romania, 408.00 points; 2 James Lichtenstein, US, 406.20; 3 Aidan Heslop, Great Britain, 403.80; 4 Yolotl Otniel Martinez Cabral, Mexico, 379.40; 5 Carlos Gimeno, Spain, 374.30; 6 Jonathan Paredes, Mexico, 373.70; 7 David Colturi, US, 367.20; 8 Oleksiy Prygorov, Ukraine, 331.80; 9 Sergio Guzman, Mexico, 311.95; 10 Andrea Barnaba, Italy, 299.15.
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