The sports and entertainment festival on the first weekend of July in Polignano a Mare, in front of more than 40 thousand Italian and foreign people in the city of Bari in its tenth edition, to dive for two days from great heights with the international competition Red Bull Cliff Diving Fans in attendance to attend the unbeatable show. The men’s section in Italy was won by English Aidan Heslop, followed by Romanians Constantin Popovici and Caitlin Preda. In his second season as a permanent diver, young Briton Heslop, who started the day in tenth place, moved into the top three thanks to an extraordinary third-round dive from a 27-meter platform. Then landing a forward 4 somersaults 3½ twists pike, the 21-year-old surged into the lead. The win followed his worst result in five years – a ninth place in Paris two weeks ago – and has boosted him from sixth to second in the overall standings. Romanian Constantin Popovici leads the standings by 200 points thanks to his second place in Polignano. Her compatriot Caitlin Preda completed the Italian podium in third place.
Among the women, a seventh consecutive win at Polignano a Mare from 2017 to date – with a double win in 2021 – for Australian Rihanna Ifland, unbeatable and impeccable in her twirl from the 21m-high platform overlooking the sea. The six-time world champion edged out Molly Carlson of Canada, the Australian taking her twenty-third win in the last twenty-four rounds of the World Series. The fight for the women’s title between Ifland and Carlsen is still alive: 130 points separate the first two in the general standings and with three stages to go, everything is still wide open. Australian Xanthia Penici completed the women’s podium and, after missing the Paris round due to injury, picked up where she left off with another third place in Boston.
Competition Sunday began with a greeting dive by Alessandro De Rose, the Italian athlete who was well-loved by the people of Polignano and has been out of competition this year recovering from injury. On his 31st birthday, De Rose wanted to celebrate by giving Italian fans an unscheduled dive here in Polignano, commemorating his 2017 victory. Two blue wildcards – Elisa Cocetti, born in 2002, competing in Polignano for her third year, and twenty-two-year-old Davide Baraldi, making his second appearance in the World Series at the Italian round, reached eighth and twelfth places. respectively.
After three stages in the last four weeks, the athletes will now enjoy a break to rest and regain energy before flying to the land of the rising sun for the stage on August 3, where the World Swimming Championships will also take place a few days earlier. , Seven years after the first Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series at the Shirahama Cliffs in Japan, divers will dive into the beautiful scenery of Takachiho Gorge in Miyazaki Prefecture.