The world series of the Red Bull Cliff Diving competition came to the UK this weekend and the Pitch team headed over to work on one of the world’s most extreme sporting events. Cliff diving sees athletes experience gravity-defying freefalling from a height of 27m where they reach speeds of up to 85kph – making cliff diving the purest extreme sport on earth.
Ten of the world’s best cliff divers launch from this insane height with no protection at all, relying only on their concentration, skill and physical control. They add flips and twists to their freefall and hit the water three seconds later. As the pinnacle of cliff diving competitions, the 2013 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series was once again the platform for breathtaking action and beyond-belief complexity, spotlighting the sport’s top athletes.
This weekend, the elite divers descended into Pembrokshire in Wales to the beautiful Blue Lagoon for the latest world series stopover. All eyes were undoubtedly on the British guys who were hoping to pull in the points for the home crowd. For each dive the silence was deafening as the diver made their way down to the end of the platform and took position. The crowds held their breath for the free-fall until the athlete came up to the surface with a smile – the crowds roared with excitement.
Gary Hunt, the 29-year-old overall leader of the current season was declared the winner of the sixth round of the World Series in a competition that was not decided until the very last dive. After a third place at the Blue Lagoon in 2012, Hunt wanted a home win more than anything else and he accomplished the feat on Saturday afternoon in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. Second place went to Russia’s Artem Silchenko and Orlando Duque, from Colombia, completed the podium.
More than 5,500 spectators over the weekend watched as three UK divers made the final round of the top-eight athletes for the first time this season and bright sunshine made up for a week of wet and physically-demanding weather conditions. With just two stops to go, the competition resumes in just two weeks’ time in the Brazilian city of Niterói.
