On Friday afternoon, the first athletes of this year dived for victory. The spectators could look forward to three exciting finals and a spectacular supporting program.
A special highlight was the Mixed Team Event - a competition that had never been held in this form before at the Rostock International Divers Days. In the mixed team event, two to four athletes per nation compete, including at least one woman and one man. The dives are performed at different heights and in different constellations.
First, each nation presented an individual dive from the 3-meter board - one female and one male diver. This was followed by a synchronized dive, also from the 3-metre board. The athletes then switched to the 10-meter tower, where they performed another individual dive. The final event was another synchronized dive from the tower.
This competition gave the spectators a taste of what was to come, as all disciplines were combined here. After four rounds, the team of neutral athletes secured first place, followed by Germany in second place and Singapore in third place.
While the athletes prepared for the award ceremony, the junior divers from grades 5 to 9 performed impressive training dives for the audience.
OSPA groß
The eagerly awaited men's 3-metre board final was then on the agenda. The strongest athletes had already prevailed in the preliminary competition the day before and the semi-finals in the morning, meaning that the final was a high-class competition on the board.
The athletes delivered a thrilling competition right from the start. Top performance and precision were required to get the challenging somersaults and twists into the water as cleanly as possible. Some of the divers showed strong nerves and improved their final dives, while others lost valuable points due to minor uncertainties. The tension in the pool was palpable and the applause probably echoed throughout the city.
After six heats, the placings were decided: gold went to Evgeny Kuznetsov from the Neutral Athletes. Nikita Shleikher, also from the Neutral Athletes, secured silver. Bronze went to Matthew Dixon from Great Britain.
Schweißtechnik (SLV)
The crowning finale of the competition day was the women's final from the 10-meter tower - a competition that required not only precision but also enormous courage. From a height of ten meters, the athletes plunged into the depths at breathtaking speed, their movements in the air a perfect interplay of strength and elegance.
Each athlete had to maintain absolute control over her technique and posture in order to achieve a clean water position - because even the slightest imperfection could cost valuable points. With the extremely strong competition, every point was crucial. After the third round, just 0.05 points separated the first-placed diver from the second-placed diver.
Thunderous applause accompanied each of the athletes' dives. In the end, Pauline Pfeif from Germany triumphed with a lead of 21.25 points. Silver went to Éloise Bélanger from Canada, while Anna Konanykhina won the bronze medal for the neutral athletes.
An all-round successful day full of impressive performances, congratulations to all the athletes.