“It’s a fairy tale,” “a perfect story.” In front of their own, the two lovers and adopted Montrealers, Molly Carlson and Aidan Heslop, won the first Canadian edition of Red Bull Cliff Diving.
Carlson first won the women’s division ahead of overall leader Rhiannan Iffland. The Australian wowed the crowd with her best dive of the competition. All the pressure was on Carlson, who was last to go.
Carlson hadn’t yet jumped into the water, but her eyes were full of it. For the first time in her career, she was going to perform in front of her family, her friends, “Canada,” as she put it.
“It was so much love from Canada. I felt like I had to cry,” she shared, a few minutes after her triumph. “It was loud, it was crazy.”
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Australian Rhiannan Iffland
She shared her tears with her coach Stéphane Lapointe. Watching her from 20 metres below, Lapointe experienced strong emotions when he saw his protégé mime a heart with both hands, in front of the 25,000 spectators on site, in the Old Port of Montreal.
“I was super emotional,” he shares, still visibly shaken. “But the stress kicked in as soon as I saw Molly getting ready.”
Molly Carlson took off. She was in the air for only a second. A slim second that allowed her to secure the title in Montreal, her fourth career on the Red Bull circuit.
As soon as she surfaced, Carlson began celebrating. Even without seeing the judges’ scores, she knew she had won. “When I came out of the water, I was already crying,” she shares. “I had this feeling of perfection.”
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Canadian Molly Carlson before a dive at the Red Bull Cliff Diving in Montreal
Her hunch was right: One of the judges gave her a perfect score of 10. Carlson became the first woman on the circuit to achieve that score this season.
“It’s a fairy tale. Someone wrote this ending, and I’m the one living it. It’s just magical,” she said, excited, proudly showing each of her teeth.
Beyond her most recent dive, Carlson was pleased with her consistency. Her four jumps in the competition earned her excellent marks. “It’s something that’s really hard for me to do, and for other athletes. It’s the first time I’ve done it this season,” she said.
Even crowned, Carlson was not free from stress: her boyfriend, Montrealer Aidan Heslop, was going to race later in the evening.
It’s difficult for him: when I win, he wants to have his moment with me, so he wants it to go well.
Molly Carlson
Fortunately for her, storms and rain got involved, postponing the rest of the competition, which allowed her to enjoy her tears of joy. From her tears in the rain, Montreal will only remember fire.
Opportunistic
Like his lover, Heslop delivered the best dive of the entire weekend in the men’s competition on his final attempt. Romania’s Constantin Popovici was leading the standings. Heslop had to outdo himself to hope to win. He did just that, delivering a dive with the highest difficulty rating of the entire competition.
PHOTO GRAHAM HUGHES, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Aidan Heslop
Popovici eventually finished second, ahead of Mexico’s Yolotl Martínez.
“I tried to stay calm and put on a show for Montrealers. It was really special,” he said after collecting his trophy on the top step of the podium.
The Briton has been living in Montreal for two years. He and Carlson live in a tower in the city center. From their apartment window, in the days leading up to the competition, they could see the competition site, in full assembly. Let’s just say that you can’t imagine a worse location to do your pre-competition visualization.
We had a bit of an advantage. It’s so cool to dive at home. We wouldn’t have thought it was a real competition.
Aidan Heslop
It was the second time Carlson and Heslop had won the same event, following their triumph in Boston in 2023.
“To do it a second time, at home, is really special. I think we made our crowd pretty proud,” Heslop said.
Shine at the right time
The pressure is certainly pleasing to Canadians. All of the country’s divers gave their best performance on Sunday, in their decisive attempt, but above all, in front of the largest crowd of the weekend.
Montreal’s Simone Leathead was particularly smiling. Her first outing of the competition was simply catastrophic. She had obtained the worst score among women, 22.1, less than half of the second worst score, belonging to the Spaniard Carlota Gonzales-Pereiro. Despite this initial failure, Leathead finished the competition in ninth place.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Montrealer Simone Leathead
“To do a good dive in front of so many people today is a bit of a comfort,” Leathead said.
“A dive doesn’t define you. My career is so much bigger than a moment, than a simple dive,” she philosophizes.
In the men’s race, Laval’s Charles-Antoine Labadie finished last. This was far from disappointing for him: it was his first appearance on the Red Bull circuit. At 17, he is not even eligible for world championship events. His presence in itself was already a victory.
“I’m happy with my results: I had four good dives. There’s room for improvement, that’s for sure. We’re going to work on that over the next few months, the next few years to come back stronger,” he assures.
Winnipeg’s Aimee Harrison also finished last in the women’s competition.
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- Mission accomplished
- Montrealers turned out for this first Canadian edition of Red Bull Cliff Diving. About 35,000 curious visitors came to the Old Port over the three days of competition. Is Montreal doing enough to hope to host the event again? “I think so!” comments Red Bull Cliff Diving series director Hassan Mouti. “In terms of the structure, the reception of the athletes, the event as a whole, it’s a professional job. We’ll wait a few weeks to get feedback, but I’ll do everything I can to come back,” he concludes.