World Series
Exciting Initial Position After Colombia's Orlando Duque, in 2009, and the three-time champion, Gary Hunt, from England, it was 30-year-old Artem Silchenko who took the 2013 crown in a red-hot final competition in Thailand last October. This coming season, the Russian and nine other top athletes will fight for the World Series title together with up to four wildcards at each stop, showcasing more gravity-defying freefall all across the globe. 2013’s rookie of the year, and the World Series’ youngest athlete, Mexico’s Jonathan Paredes, and the rising stars from the USA, David Colturi and Steven LoBue will challenge the grand masters of cliff diving. Based on their overall performance in 2013, America’s Andy Jones and Poland’s Kris Kolanus have been confirmed as the final two athletes to make up the permanent list of ten divers for 2014.
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High Standards From an individual’s passion high diving has turned into a recognized sport, which draws people’s attention worldwide. “It’s getting more and more interesting for new divers to come into the Series, because it’s kind of a prestige thing, it’s the top in our sport. Just like in any other sport there is the one event that everybody wants to participate in and wants to win. This is what every high diver wants to win. Not because you’re on TV or in magazines, no. Everybody in the sport knows your name after you’ve won this one,” Orlando Duque explains. In 35 competitions between 2009 and 2013, the athletes have pushed the sport to such a high level that American Greg Louganis – four-time Olympic gold medallist and the most successful diver of all time – predicts an even brighter future for cliff diving: “This Series standardized the sport. The height is always between 26.5m and 28m; they have the fixed degree of difficulty and a good panel of judges. Consequently, the divers know better what to expect and can prepare better. I think it’s very possible that cliff diving becomes an Olympic sport. There is so much more talent coming into the sport. It’s an exciting time for cliff diving.” The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series aims for guaranteeing the highest possible quality in this sport, featuring the world’s best athletes as well as young talent, and, since 2013, women as well. It provides them with a platform to excel and express their passion over and over again.