Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2013 – Story Clip – France, La Rochelle

Artem Silchenko’s outstanding performance left the huge crowd of people that had gathered below, around and opposite the opera speechless. The Russian had just nailed his back armstand with two and a half somersaults and two and a half twists for 10s from the judges. The dive has a Degree of Difficulty of 6.1 and, with its blind entry, it's one of the most exhilarating and jaw-dropping manoeuvres. The view across the water through royal Amalienborg, from which spectators were spotted, impress...

Artem Silchenko won the first competition of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2013 in France, La Rochelle. The podium is completed by three-time World Series champion Gary Hunt in second and qualifier Blake Aldridge in third place. La Rochelle presented itself in the best way and welcomed the huge crowd of 70,000 enthusiastic spectators with bright sunshine. © Red Bull Media House

Artem Silchenko opened the competition, picked up exactly where he left off in France after racing into the lead during the first round and with an almost perfect execution of his blind-entry dive he took the highest score for a single dive as well as his second successive win in Denmark. On Saturday afternoon, 27,000 spectators witnessed the cliff diving masterclass from the 28m-stage atop the Copenhagen Opera House in a spine-tingling competition. Never before in a World Series competition...

In a seven-day period the divers will have to deal with a modern opera house in Denmark’s historic capital and return to the impressive volcanic rocks of the Azores archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic. Without any time to recover, the athletes will face one of their biggest challenges of the whole season: in the first all-natural competition of the current season an imposing monolith and the outside crater walls of the circular-shaped Vila Franca do Campo islet offshore from São Miguel...

More than 70,000 spectators flooded La Rochelle’s old port this Saturday afternoon for the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2013 kick-off in France. In a sunny La Rochelle the 29-year-old Russian Artem Silchenko achieved his premiere goal – a victory ahead of reigning World Series champion Gary Hunt and former Olympic diver Blake Aldridge, both from England. The fifth season of the sport’s most prestigious series of competitions got underway at possibly the scariest location of them all a...

Red Bull Cliff Diving has its first female winner – Anna Bader from Germany. It was the eagerly-awaited competition and this Saturday afternoon four athletes proved why they were chosen to compete in the first-ever Red Bull Cliff Diving women’s competition. In a close fight, 29-yearold Anna Bader (214.70pts) took victory ahead of America’s Ginger Huber (207.90) with Tara Hyer-Tira (184.55) from San Francisco completing the podium and Canadian diver Stephanie De Lima (158.10) finishing fourth....

In the next five months, and during eight competitions, the cliff diving elite will launch from almost three times the Olympic diving height in venues all over the globe, showing their most spectacular and difficult tricks, and overcoming rational fear to impress the judges and spectators alike. And to spice it all up, the 2013 World Series comes to its scariest location first: La Rochelle, France. © Red Bull Media House

Fitness is an absolutely important part for cliff divers not to get injured. One competition after the other within seven days – that’s hard for a cliff diver’s body. What’s the perfect training for bones and muscles to deal with a challenge like this? Is it an advantage to be a rookie diver in a young body or does experience play a role as well? © Red Bull Media House