Jessica Macaulay finished second, and Molly Carlson was fourth following the final round at the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series stop in Downpatrick Head, Ireland, on Sunday.
Macaulay finished with a combined score of 343.80, behind only Rhiannan Iffland of Australia (391.60). Australia’s Xantheia Pennisi finished third with 338.20 points.
Sunday was Macaulay’s best finish of the season – she previously had two third place finishes.
“I’m super happy with my dives,” Macaulay said. “I know I can still do my back triple better, but I wouldn’t say I missed my back triple, so I hit 4-for-4 on my dives. I’m really happy with the outcome. Super happy to stand on that podium in second place.”
The 28-year-old was first following Saturday’s two rounds with a cumulative score of 160.20. She scored 93.60 on her first dive on Sunday and 90.00 on her final dive to briefly maintain her top spot.
After rough conditions at Downpatrick Head on Saturday, the waters were much smoother for the final round on Sunday, which benefitted the divers.
“I think that it helped with was taking the mental stress away from having to think about the waves, the wind and the conditions,” Macaulay said. “I could just focus on my dives. That’s where it came in handy.”
After finishing Saturday’s first two rounds in ninth, Carlson scored 114.80 on her third dive and 100.70 on her final dive to jump into the fourth position on Sunday. The 22-year-old finished with a combined score of 316.80.
Carlson admitted the change in conditions helped with her success on Sunday.
“The conditions were a lot smoother and also my mental state,” she said. “I kind of let the fear of the waves and the conditions take over my first day of competition, so leading into Day 2, I kind of knew what to expect. I was able to really just focus on my dives.”
The Thunder Bay, ON native, was especially happy with her third-round dive, the front quad, which helped her jump five spots in the standings.
“Just learning front quad just weeks before this competition, to hit it, and get my first 10 at Red Bull felt so good,” Carlson said. “Getting that dive really made me smile and then just staying consistent and positive on the inward to end up jumping from ninth to fourth.”
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, visitwww.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