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THE FIRST OUTDOOR MAGAZINE FOR THE UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST
OCTOBER 2012 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM
EVENT REVIEWS
Red Bull Cliff Diving
World Championship
Imagine three seconds of free
fall before hitting the water at a
speed of 85 kilometers per hour.
Now imagine trying to incorporate
several twists and turns into that
timeframe without landing on your
face or pulling off a spectacular
belly flop! The divers competing
in the Red Bull cliff diving championship
are some of the best in
the world, performing complex
acrobatics from a height of 27
meters with the utmost precision.
More than twenty divers from ten
countries competed in 2012 to
be declared the best in the world.
The competition traveled to several
stunning locations including France,
Norway, Portugal, Ireland, USA,
Whales and, for the grand finale,
the Sultanate of Oman.
The event, which I must say was one of
the best organized events that I have had
the pleasure to attend in Oman, took place
in Wadi Ash Shab along the coast of the
country. We were amazed when we arrived
to see such a tremendous turnout as hundreds
of people poured into the wadi. We
began our trek into the canyon, wondering
where there might possibly be enough
water to jump from such a height, when we
rounded the corner to find a massive crowd
gathered in front of a large emerald pool.
Onlookers filled the entrance of the pool
and lined the cliffs. As I looked around, my
18 OUTDOORUAE
Words + Photos: Darryl MacDonald
gaze finally settled on the dive platform high
up near the top of the canyon, and it made
the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
From that height, one small mistake could
lead to an extremely serious injury, or worse.
There was a boat anchored in the water for
the judges to have a clear view of the divers.
The “drop zone” was marked with jets
sprayed into the water so the athletes can
pinpoint where they were meant to hit 27
meters below and was surrounded by divers
ready to deal with the repercussions of a bad
landing.
As the first contender walked out onto the
platform the crowd roared to life then slowly
faded to silence as the former British Olympic
diver, Blake Aldridge, readied himself,
then without hesitation proceeded to do
three consecutive rotations before landing
perfectly in the water below, three seconds
later. The crowd went wild! The spectacle
that followed over the next three rounds
was jaw dropping. This year’s finale was
particularly exciting with the scores among
the top three contenders so close going into
the Oman finale that any one of them could
claim the world title. The competition was
fierce.
Orlando Duque, at 37 years of age, was
definitely the man to beat in this year’s competition.
With an illustrious career, Duque
holds nine world championship titles and a
Guinness world record for the only diver ever
to achieve a perfect score from all the judges
after performing a double back somersault
with four twists during the 2000 world finals
in Hawaii. After breaking his ankle in 2011 in
a skydiving accident, the Columbian native
worked extra hard for this year’s competition..
He came back strong, leading most of
the series this year. I asked Gary Hunt, the
World Series champion for the previous two
years and runner up in 2009, how he felt
about his chances coming into the finale and
he had this to say:
“All through the year I’ve felt like it might
not go my way this year. Orlando has been
in the lead the whole time, and even in this
competition just felt it was just slipping away
but I did know that I had my hardest dive last
so if it did go well it could be enough.”
Orlando and Gary went head to head
saving their most difficult dives for last. It
was a close competition, but Gary came out
on top, managing a two point lead to secure
the world title for the third year in a row!
Orlando captured second place based on
his strong performance through the year. An
interesting twist of the day was David Colturi
climbing the ranks and capturing third place
for the Oman event. Colturi, a 23 year old
US national champion, is not only a newcomer
to the series but is also the youngest
diver to take part in a full competition.
Colturi showed the world that he has what it
takes by keeping up with the seasoned, top
athletes.
The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Championship
is a unique event that should be
on everyone’s must see list. It was a high
energy, meticulously organized event with
visuals that make even the spectators’
adrenaline flow. The schedule for 2013 will
be announced on the Red Bull website:
https://www.redbullcontentpool.com/content/cliffdiving
and next year will be the first
year that female entrants will be allowed to
compete for the World Cup. So stay tuned
for the big event in 2013!
2012 Final Standings
1. Gary Hunt UK 860
2. Orlando Duque COL 840
3. Steven LoBue USA 740
4. Artem Silchenko RUS 670
5. David Colturi USA 550
6. Michal Navratil CZE 400