Champions crowned at RB Cliff Diving World Series 2026 - Polignano a Mare
Aidan Heslop completed a remarkable comeback season at the 2026 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, finishing fourth in Polignano a Mare to wrap up a second King Kahekili Trophy. On the day, it was Ukraine’s Oleksiy Prygorov and Canadian Molly Carlson who scored memorable wins at the final stop, but ultimately it was the Brit and Australia’s Rhiannan Iffland who stood atop the overall podium as they were crowned champions in Italy.
Heslop, who first laid his hands on cliff diving’s biggest prize two years ago before taking a season off to undergo back surgery, rounded out a dream return to the 27m platform this year by doing exactly what he needed to do at the finale. With title rivals Constantin Popovici and James Lichtenstein applying pressure right to the season’s final dives in Italy, the 24-year-old held his nerve in front of 10,000 fans to take fourth spot as he became only the second man in the sport’s history to win more than one King Kahekili Trophy.
“It means so much to me. After all that I've been through, I think it's quite fitting,” said Heslop, who also becomes only the second male wildcard to win the title. “I know the percentages were good, but just watching the other guys dive after not a great dive myself was one of the hardest things I've had to do. Polignano was already special to me, but now it's extra special.”
The long waiting comes to an end. The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2024 was about to kick off in Athens, Greece on May 26th. 2024 is a year of milestones. The men started into their 15th season while the women were entering their 10th season. The second stop in Boston will mark the 100th event…
In the end, despite not being at his brilliant best in the place where he made his debut in 2018, it was a win at the season opener in Bali – combined with three successive runner-up spots – that proved decisive in what was another thrilling tight fight. Just like in 2024, American Lichtenstein and Romanian Popovici played their part in the battle, but both fell just short once again as a respective second and third place in Italy mirrored their final position in the overall standings.
Prygorov, meanwhile, once again gatecrashed the season’s final celebrations with a stunning performance of his own. Just like he did two years ago in Sydney – with all eyes on the title fight – the 39-year-old crept quietly up the leaderboard to position himself at the top ahead of the final round. And, just as the congratulations and back-patting were beginning on the beach below, the Ukrainian remained focused to reel off an accomplished Forward 4 Somersaults 2½ Twists Pike and take his second career victory.
“I feel incredible. I’ve been here seven times, two times to practice and five competing. I was dreaming of making the podium, but could never imagine I was going to be first here. I love Polignano a Mare and something unbelievable happened today,” said Prygorov, who leaps from sixth place overall into fourth with this stunning result, meaning that he’s now guaranteed himself a permanent place for next season.
The best dive of the competition went to homegrown diver Andrea Barnaba, who wowed both the crowd and the judges in round three with a beautifully crafted Inward 3 Somersaults ½ Twist Pike to earn two 9.0s and a 9.5 on his way to a strong fifth-place finish.
The stakes weren’t quite as high over in the women’s competition, with Rhiannan Iffland having secured her 10th King Kahekili Trophy at the penultimate stop in Mostar. An injury to the invincible Aussie in the second round on the Adriatic, however, did throw the door wide open for one of the chasing pack to claim a rare victory. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was the champion’s perennial title rival – Molly Carlson – who seized the opportunity to score a fifth career victory from the 21m platform.
Right from the off, the 28-year-old was in fine form, executing an immaculate Forward 2 Somersaults ½ Twist Tuck direct from a private balcony in round one – earning 9.0s from the judges and a bonus championship point for the competition’s best dive. The consistent Canadian was the only diver, male or female, not to pick up a single score below 8.0 all weekend – a fact made all the more remarkable considering the choppy waters and Adriatic swells which accompanied every round.
“I just cried happy tears, because what just happened in the most chaotic environment… I’m so proud of what I could do out there today,” said Carlson, who has come back strong following a frightening platform slip and injury in this very spot last year. “What a dream to stand up there, to be sparkling, to hear the crowd, and to nail all four dives just felt so special. I can't wait to see what the next season holds because it made me fall in love with competing all over again.”
Meanwhile, despite not completing a competition for the first time in her illustrious career, 35-year-old Iffland was delighted to collect her 10th cliff diving crown in a location where she had been unbeatable for the last nine stops: “It wasn’t the way I wanted to finish, but what an incredible decade it’s been. So much hard work, so much persistence, so much fun. I’m super blown away by what I’ve achieved today and I’m very proud of it.”
Carlson finishes runner-up overall once again, and while Australia’s Xantheia Pennisi and American Lisa Faulkner landed in second and third on the Polignano a Mare podium, neither could quite make the leap up into the top four overall. Canada’s Simone Leathead, fifth in Italy, secured her third overall top three finish in a row, while Kaylea Arnett of the USA just edged into fourth ahead of Pennisi. The four remaining permanent divers, in both the men’s and women’s, will be decided by the World Ranking once the World Aquatics High Diving World Cup has taken place in China in November.
A season that began in paradise in Bali reached a thrilling conclusion at the home of European cliff diving, with two familiar faces rising to the top and being crowned beside the Adriatic Sea. The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series returns in 2027, with seven stops spanning four continents from March to November. Twenty-four of the world’s best cliff divers will take on five new locations as the series continues to push into new territory.
Re-watch what happened and peek behind the scenes in the “More than a dive” episode from Polignano a Mare here on Friday, October 2.
Results Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series Polignano a Mare
The impressive dive marks the celebration of the Australian record champion’s return home for the 2022 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series final as the men’s title will be decided in the year’s final dive.
Canada’s Molly Carlson and Aidan Heslop of the UK scored their first ever Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series victories in Boston on Saturday, ousting the reigning men’s and women’s champions in an exceptional display at the Institute of Contemporary Art.
