Red Bull have earned a reputation for taking whatever they turn their hand to and making it epic. Of all the companies involved in action sports, no one comes close to Red Bull’s dedication of pushing the envelope, the limits of human endurance and re-imagining the possibilities of human endeavor. Never has this been more true than when it comes to the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.
For starters, the platform is 27 meters high, dwarfing the measly 10 meters reserved for the olympics. By the time these heros hit the water, they’re traveling at 55 mph, taking 3 seconds to perform their incredible tricks before taking an impact that can be compared to a hard fall onto concrete from 13 meters. Insane.
Abereiddi was the perfect venue for the British debut of the Red Bull Cliff Diving. The Blue Lagoon is a former mine pit 200 meters deep with sheer cliffs and great place for the crowd to stand and watch with awe. To be honest I haven’t been watching the Cliff Diving for long, every dive got the crowd going, regardless of the judges scoring. I think the fact that these athletes were willing to take the plunge from such a height into a pretty mean looking lagoon was enough to impress.
Saturday’s penultimate stop of the 2012 World Series was a debut in many regards. It was the first stop on British soil, showed the highest standard of diving that the competition has seen so far and brought a new winner to the podium! 27-year old Steven Lobue from Muncie, Indiana, missed his flight and had a late start to the competition.
But he came straight from the airport, dived and conquered, leaving Orlando Duque (COL) and Gary Hunt in 2nd and 3rd place! He claimed the first World Series win for an American cliff diver!
In rather unusually great Welsh weather conditions more than 3,300 spectators to the ‘Blue Lagoon’ in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales.
With his fourth consecutive second-placed finish, Orlando Duque remains the most consistent athlete during the current season, beating Gary Hunt by 7.05pts. The Englishman was especially motivated to win in front of his home crowd, but missed with his usually effective ‘Triple Quad’.
During the sixth stop the World Series’ points-scratch system came into play. According to this new rule the divers can cancel their worst two dives – out of seven individual competition results. With one more competition to come, not only the top five, who automatically qualify for the 2013 edition, but also the battle for the title of World Series Champion, is still fiercely fought. The winner will be decided on the Arabian Peninsula in three weeks’ time when the Sultanate of Oman hosts the Grand Final on September, 28th.
Gillan Williams
