World News Aussie cliff diver Iffland nails Northern Ireland win Blog

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Australian Rhiannan Iffland has achieved a spectacular victory at the fourth stop of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2024 – the first in Northern Ireland.

In cold, wet and windy weather on the picturesque Causeway Coast, the 32-year-old from Newcastle received 9.0 points from the judges in each of the first three rounds before a powerful final jump sealed her impressive victory over Ginni van Katwijk.

The Dutchwoman took second place – her best career result – and her first ever podium finish, while Molly Carlson of Canada completed the podium.

Briton Aidan Heslop won the men’s event.

Iffland, the dominant force in the women's competition for the past eight years, also received an extra point for the best jump of the competition, extending her lead over Carlson in the overall standings to 19 points and moving one step closer to a record-breaking eighth King Kahekili trophy.

“I'm just getting into the swing of things in the competitions now and finding out where I'm best at before I start jumping,” said Iffland, who achieved her best performance of the season with a total score of 371.90 points.

“I won’t slow down from now until the next stop and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Heslop finished the race 46.10 points ahead of Romanian Constantin Popovici, with James Lichtenstein finishing third.

The American took his fourth podium finish this season, maintaining his place at the top of the men's overall standings and becoming the first diver in history to reach the top spot mid-season without having won a competition.

“I'm so happy. I've got a few wins under my belt but this is my first home win and hopefully I can get a few more,” said 22-year-old Heslop.

“The weather hasn't been ideal over the last few days, so I guess I had a bit of an advantage as a Brit. I was in a good mood all day and I'm just happy that I managed it.”

The world's best cliff divers can now take a three-week break before heading to Oslo, Norway, where the second half of the season will begin on August 8 from the longest platform in World Series history.

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