Reigning women's champion Rhiannan Iffland is out of the competition in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, this weekend after suffering a knee injury during a warm up dive on the first day of action from Stari Most. The 26-year-old Australian, who was in line to land her second World Series title if she had picked up another win on Saturday, will now need to recover and wait for the final event in Chile in October to try and claim her second crown.
After a slow start in the first round of the women's competition, Adriana Jimenez soared into the lead with a stunning second dive from 21m and takes a lead into Saturday's final rounds as she goes in search of her second win of the season. Either way, the Mexican is certain to make up a large portion of the 170 points advantage that Iffland holds over her in the overall rankings. Following behind Jimenez are Cesilie Carlton of the US in second place and Australia's Helena Merten in third.
"I didn't know I was in first place," said an excited Jimenez, "but I'll try not to think too much about my position and just enjoy the competition. I feel bad for Rhiannan. I know it hurts to miss the competition, but she needs to think about her body. That's the most important thing."
In the men's it was Kris Kolanus who strung together two stunning dives from 27m, scoring nines from the judges for both, and the Pole will now begin Saturday's finals perched on top of the standings. The 30-year-old is not getting too carried away with his lofty position though:
"I did two great dives today, and I'm feeling good," said Kolanus, "but I don't have huge expectations for tomorrow. I didn't have much time to train so I'm doing easy dives, but maybe at the last stop in Chile I will do one of my more difficult dives."
Meanwhile, Jonathan Paredes continued his fine season form to earn second place after two rounds, and the Mexican will attempt to make it a repeat of his victory here in 2015 to take command in the overall standings. Steven Lobue sits in third place, but English duo Gary Hunt and Blake Aldridge didn't have the best of starts, and will begin the third round in sixth and eleventh place respectively.
American Andy Jones had a bitter pill to swallow after following up his excellent first round effort by collecting zero points for a second round failed dive. The 32-year-old executed his declared dive incorrectly, performing one twist too many on his way down to the Neretva River.
With Iffland out, it now means that both women's and men's title fights will go down to the wire this season, and on Saturday the battle will intensify as they leap from Stari Most in front of thousands of passionate fans.
Standings after Round 2:
Men
1- Kris Kolanus (POL) – 171.00pts
2- Jonathan Paredes (MEX) – 166.80
3- Steven LoBue (USA) – 166.00
4- Alessandro De Rose (W) (ITA) – 161.80
5- Michal Navratil (CZE) – 160.80
6- Gary Hunt (GBR) – 158.80
7- Sergio Guzman (MEX) – 151.90
8- Miguel Garcia (W) (COL) – 149.20
9- Oleksiy Prygorov (W) (UKR) - 146.60
10- Nikita Fedotov (W) (RUS) - 142.80
11- Blake Aldridge (GBR) – 140.40
12- Orlando Duque (COL) – 136.40
13- David Colturi (USA) – 126.20
14- Andy Jones (USA) - 68.60
Women
1- Adriana Jimenez (MEX) – 155.90pts
2- Cesilie Carlton (USA) – 152.50
3- Helena Merten (AUS) – 143.00
4- Anna Bader (W) (GER) – 141.00
5- Ginger Huber (USA) – 136.70
6- Yana Nestsiarava (W) (BLR) – 124.40
7- Eleanor Townsend Smart (W) (USA) – 114.40
Watch Live from Mostar
This event will be LIVE on September 16 from 14.30 local time (12.30 GMT) on www.redbullcliffdiving.com and Red Bull TV. Red Bull TV is available on connected TVs, gaming consoles, mobile devices and more. Find out more at about.redbull.tv
