This weekend saw David Colturi, Blake Aldridge, Steven LoBue and Jorge Ferzuli head down under for the competition and emerge victorious after an extraordinary cliff diving competition at the Hawkesbury River, in Australia. The four athletes have qualified automatically for the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2012.
The format of the competition saw 15 cliff divers perform a total of eight dives from 27.5 metres in the battle for the right to compete in the sport’s most prestigious competition.
After an unseasonably cold and wet lead-up to the decisive day of competition on Saturday, summer finally returned to New South Wales and, in front of a crowd of almost 4,000 spectators, David Colturi – the American whose World Series debut was as a wildcard in Boston in August 2011 – finished top ahead of Great Britain Olympian Blake Aldridge, and 2011 rookies Steven LoBue (USA) and Jorge Ferzuli (MEX).
The final four are a mixed bunch, starting with the winner 22-year-old Colturi who was selected to compete in the qualification competition after a very impressive first performance on the tour last August. “I’m so new to the sport still. I’ve been training my ass off. I’m trying to keep getting better,” said the Ann Arbor-born diver immediately after qualifying. "I'm ecstatic! I feel incredible right now. I'm competing in the sport that I love, so I couldn’t be happier and I look forward to a long and prosperous career."
The competition went right to the wire. Only with his final dive did Colturi overtake the previous leader, Blake Aldridge. The Olympian, who competed in the last Olympics in Beijing, performed the highest scoring dive of the day: his back armstand with two and a half somersaults and three twists secured 154 points.
'It's what I came here to do... to be in the Series is massive'
“I’ve qualified for the World Series. What can I say?" said Aldridge. "It’s what I came here to do and that’s what I’ve done. I’m over the moon! To be in the Series now is massive. I only came in on the tour last year as a wildcard. I’ve now come to the qualification event, led all the way through to the second competition and just lost it with the last dive. Everything has been a learning curve. It’s all been happening so fast; now I am part of the tour. I just can’t wait to start scoring points."
The all-important top four were completed by American Steven LoBue and Mexico’s Jorge Ferzuli, who participated as rookies in last year’s World Series but received top scores from the five judges to earn the right to compete in seven competitions during the 2012 high diving season.
The field of 11 permanent participants of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series is now set and includes the top seven divers from 2011 who have all qualified automatically, while three wildcards will be added for each World Series event in 2012. The athletes will compete head-to-head for the prestigious World Series title in seven competitions as the sport of cliff diving goes global between June and September.
Click here for the final result. Download the full breakdown of results from Day 1 and Day 2 of competition.
For More Cliff Diving Action:
* Get the Latest on Gary Hunt the UK Champion of Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2011
* Follow the progress of this years competition live on www.redbullcliffdiving.com
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