Inside the Cliff Diving World Series
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Photo courtesy of Red Bull
Twenty-four of the world’s best cliff divers will leap off a board as high as the Institute of Contemporary Art roof tomorrow.
What’s happening: The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series is back. Here’s what to know if you want to go and experience the secondhand adrenaline (or dread).
Zoom out: Boston is the only U.S. stop in the competition. The event will continue in France, Italy, Japan, Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina and New Zealand through November.
What to know: The contest starts around noon. Admission is free.
- The women’s division has competitors diving from 69 feet above water. The men’s division has them diving from 89 feet above.
Where to watch: Watch the competition up close in the Seaport. The north entrance is at the corner of Fan Pier Boulevard and Waterside Avenue; the west entrance at Marina Park Drive and Northern Avenue and the east entrance at Pier 4 Boulevard and Harbor Shore Drive.
- You could also watch the competition at 1pm on ESPN+.
Flashback: Molly Carlson of Canada and Aidan Heslop of Great Britain won last year’s Boston event. They’re back this year.
Zoom in: Other divers hail from Australia, Ukraine, Romania, Colombia and the U.S.
The Americans
🇺🇸 Colorado-born Genevieve Bradley debuted in 2019 in Beirut and later that year placed 7th in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
🇺🇸 Meili Carpenter, 35, also a Colorado native, had qualified for the Olympic trials before retiring from competitive diving in June 2012. Her retirement lasted roughly two years.
- A decade later, she’s a permanent diver in the event.
🇺🇸 Susanna Fish, 21, of Minnesota, started diving at 15 after a back injury made her give up from competitive gymnastics.
- She debuted in last year’s world series and is back this year as a wildcard diver.
🇺🇸 Chicago native James Lichtenstein, competed in gymnastics as a kid, but he switched to diving at the University of Notre Dame after he was offered an athletic scholarship.
- James, now 28, made his Red Bull Cliff Diving debut as a wildcard diver last year and is back as a permanent diver.
🇺🇸 Eleanor “Ellie” Smart, 28, is a nationally-ranked diver and CEO of the High Diving Institute in California.
- The Missouri-born diver first competed in the world series in 2017 and has made the women’s top 8. She’s back as a permanent diver.