Red Bull Cliff Diving | Molly Carlson breathes down the champion’s neck

For years, Australian Rihannan Iffland has dominated the Red Bull Cliff Diving series almost unchallenged. But recently, Canadian Molly Carlson has come close to matching her level, to the point of beating her on rare occasions.

Before the Montreal stopover, which takes place this weekend at the Old Port, Iffland was leading the season standings. She has won four of the five rounds so far and has 99 points with three races to go, compared to 75 for Carlson, in second place.

Carlson, 25, began her journey in the Red Bull series in 2021 and has since won three events. Succeeding Quebec’s Lysanne Richard as the Canadian headliner, she finished third in the standings in 2021 and has been runner-up the last two years.

Carlson premieres before the final

Before Sunday’s final in the Quebec metropolis, in front of her family and friends, Carlson was in first place, with 264.50 points, or 11.60 more than Iffland, in second place.

“It was electric, with all the love from Canadians!” exclaimed Carlson at the end of the day of competition. “I was afraid I was going to do the dives wrong, but I told myself, ‘No negative thoughts today, just enjoy the moment,’ and it was really good!”

The Ontarian, based in Montreal, also praised the qualities of her opponent, whatever the conditions. Because if she managed to beat her a few times, the Australian very rarely has bad days.

“She’s very consistent. I admire her,” Carlson said. “She can really do the dives anywhere in the world. Here, I’m really comfortable diving because the water is calm. But ten-foot waves, that’s not for me, I don’t like that! She likes that.”

“One day I will be that constant.”

Does she have a secret?

Iffland is the seven-time defending champion of the series. She has added four World Aquatics titles and five World Cup medals, three gold and two silver. She leaves only crumbs for the other elite divers.

To explain his success, the word constantly comes up in the mouths of his opponents, but also of the coaches and organizers of the series: consistency.

“She’s just so consistent,” said Quebecer Simone Leathead, 10^e after three dives on Saturday. There’s something quite magical about the way she dives. Her margin for error is always very small. So even when she makes mistakes, they’re not considered mistakes by everyone. I think that’s what makes her so dominant.”

“If her opponents knew, I think they would use the same secret!” exclaimed Hassan Mouti, the series’ director. “I think it’s training. It’s a lot, a lot, a lot of training.”

“Here you can only see the tip of the iceberg, but underneath, there are hours of training in the gym, weight training and in the pool. They train all year long to dive four times for just under three seconds.”

In Stéphane Lapointe’s eyes, consistency is also key. But to be consistent, technique must be on point.

With this in mind, the coach of Carlson, Leathead, Charles-Antoine Labadie and Aidan Heslop believes that Iffland’s trampoline experience is a significant asset.

“A really impressive consistency,” he began by saying about Iffland. “A lot of diving experience and a good trampoline experience, which is the best combination you can have in high diving.”

Lapointe, who leads a group of eight high divers who train in Montreal, recruited Labadie to his team partly because of his trampoline experience.

The final figure in a high dive is the barani, which consists of a front somersault with a half twist. Performed on a trampoline, it allows divers to come into contact with the water feet first.

“Just having that under control, having become familiar with that movement, really makes the transition from diving to high-flying easier,” Labadie said.

As in any sport, dominance inspires admiration, but can also harm the quality of the show and the enthusiasm of the spectators.

So Carlson’s performances and the emergence of other talented divers are delighting many in the small world of high diving.

“She has magnificent personal and human qualities,” Mouti said of the Canadian. “She is interesting and intelligent, so as an ambassador, you can’t dream of better. And also what she brings to the sport, with quality and difficulty. She fights with Iffland, so of course, it’s more competitive.

Healthy rivalries

“We feel that in the group, in general, the quality of the divers continues to increase year after year.”

For its part, Iffland does not say no to a little competition.

“The level of female divers in the sport has gone up, and it’s cool to be a part of it,” Iffland said. “Molly’s here, and she’s going to push us too. Healthy rivalries are always good and they always bring out the best in each athlete. Sometimes you learn how strong you are when you’re under pressure.”

Canadian Aimee Harrison ranked 12th^e and dead last after three dives. In the men’s category, Romanian Constantin Popovici was first with 316.80 points. Heslop (316.50) and Labadie (193.10) were respectively 2^e and 12^e.