Molly Carlson sits atop the podium while Jessica Macaulay is fourth following the first two rounds of competition at the second event in Polignano a Mare, Italy, on the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series tour.  

Carlson has a combined score of 159.50 and sits ahead of Australia’s Rhiannan Iffland (155.90) and Yana Nestsiarava (146.00) of Belarus. 

“I feel amazing. I stepped up on the platform, and the conditions were perfect,” Carlson said. “I think the experience that I have gained over the past season has really just prepared me to finish strong, be positive, and put some dives down that I know how to do. It felt really good to finish on top today and get some good dives out there.”

The 23-year-old Carlson finished third at the first event in Polignano a Mare earlier in the week with a cumulative score of 247.60. 

Carlson scored 72.80 on her first dive on Saturday and 86.70 on her second attempt. 

Her first five – the inward, double half pike – scored Carlson some 9.5 scores from the judges.

“That was fun to start the competition with some 9.5s. I haven’t competed the dive since the start of the season because we’ve been competing off the cliffs,” Carlson explained. “Having four dives off the platform this weekend, I got to bring out one of my favourite dives. It felt good to compete it and put it down for some epic scores.” 

Macaulay, who finished second in the first event in Polignano a Mare, had a combined score of 141.80 on Saturday. She finished with a total score of 250.30 in the first event finishing just behind Iffland. 

The 28-year-old scored 58.50 on her first dive and 83.30 on her second attempt – Macaulay is just 4.2 points behind Nestsiarava for the final podium spot heading into Sunday’s competition. 

“I feel good about my dives. They were pretty consistent. I know they could’ve been better, but I am still happy with the results,” Macaulay said. “I know I have to do really good dives tomorrow if I want to get up on the podium, and so that’s my goal just to nail my dives tomorrow.”

Macaulay hasn’t missed a podium on the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series tour this season. 

“I would love to finish up on the podium one more time,” she said. “That is not really what I am thinking about when I am on the platform; I am thinking about being in the moment and nailing my dives, but it is a goal of mine to get a podium at every single competition, so I’m really going to try my best tomorrow and hit my dives.”

About Diving Plongeon Canada

Diving Plongeon Canada (DPC) was established in 1967 as a not-for-profit organization to promote the growth and awareness of the sport in this country. As a member of FINA, the world’s governing body of aquatic sports, DPC contributes to the development of globally accepted standards of excellence in diving and supports the rules and regulations of international competition. Representing nine provincial diving associations, 67 local diving clubs and close to 4,000 high-performance athletes, DPC shares a national commitment to advance the art and sport of diving and to position Canada as the number one diving nation in the world. For information, visit www.diving.ca.

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For more information:

Jeff Feeney

Director, Events and Communications

Diving Plongeon Canada

C: 613-668-9668 | jeff@diving.ca