Orlando Duque (COL) diving for the victory - credit: deepbluemedia.photoshelter.com
“During the last five/six dives, the conditions were getting difficult [rain and strong winds], so you always need a bit of luck to perform well. I wasn’t so regular throughout the season, so I’m quite happy with my performances here”, noted Duque.
Like in Barcelona, Gary Hunt from Great Britain took second, scoring a total 580.05. “I need to work on my consistency throughout the competition. I’ve done some mistakes on Friday, and Orlando [Duque] did five good dives. This was what decided the competition”, considered 30-year-old Hunt, winner of the 2010, 2011 and 2012 editions of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series and known for his constant search for innovation.
Leader of the competition after the initial session, U.S. Steve LoBue completed the podium in 571.70. “I agree with Gary [Hunt]. You need five good dives to win”, declared the North American, who had minor problems with his fifth and last combination.
“I feel quite privileged to be among these guys. They are two of the most inspiring divers in the world. It’s not so bad to lose to them”, said LoBue after his effort.
When asked about the 'special' atmosphere among the High Diving family, LoBue declared: “If you spend some time with us, you will see that mutual respect is great among the group. We are doing a risky and dangerous sport, so we always wish each other safe and good dives, without injuries”, said the U.S. diver.
From left to right: Gary Hunt (GBR, silver), Steve LoBue (USA, bronze), Russian diving legend Dmitry Sautin,
FINA President Dr. Julio C. Maglione and Orlando Duque (COL, gold) - credit: deepbluemedia.photoshelter.com
As to an eventual entry of High Diving in the Olympic programme, Hunt and LoBue remained quite optimistic: “This is an extreme version of Diving, which has already a very high TV audience during the Games. Therefore, it could be a logical move”, considered the British athlete. LoBue added:
“This is a very inspiring discipline, with a very determined group of athletes practising it. We all have trained a lot to reach this level and we all love what we are doing. Finally, we sincerely appreciate the beauty of the places in which we are competing”.
Bronze medallist in Barcelona, Mexican star Jonathan Paredes (one of the youngest athletes of the field, born in 1989) was a disappointed man after the initial session on Friday. Badly missing his third dive, he was 10th coming to the two decisive rounds and despite two excellent dives (DD 3.8 and 4.9), his excellent notes were not enough to reach the podium area – he finished fifth behind local star Artem Silchenko. The Russian diver also made an impressive progression in the ranking improving from the eighth position to fourth after presenting an impressive armstand back 3 somersaults with 2 ½ twists (free position), worth a DD of 6.2.
“It was almost an impossible mission, but coming from 10th to 5th is not bad. I remain unhappy with my performance on Friday, but I will correct things in 2015. I want to present at least one new dive and raise my DD. I will come here to Kazan to win!” declared Paredes.