GARY Hunt has put himself in pole position to land a fourth consecutive Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series title.
The Southampton diver – despite only having one training dive because of poor weather – triumphed in the competition’s latest stop-off in the Azores.
The 29-year-old had previously been beaten into second place in France and Denmark by Russia’s Artem Silchenko, but Hunt’s total of 481.05 was almost 30 points better than second-placed Orlando Duque (Columbia).
Acknowledging just how tough competition has been so far this season, Hunt said after his victory: “It hasn’t sunk in really; I have been trying really hard. It has just been so tough this season. I am ecstatic!
“I think my last dive was good, I saw some nines up there and it felt like I went through the water nicely. I made a little error in the practice, but I managed to sort that out in the competition when I needed it.”
Silchenko misjudged his last dive and hit the water a bit short of vertical. The mistake relegated him to fourth place (429.40) and also handed the overall series lead to Hunt (520 points) ahead of the next round in Italy on July 14.
Blake Aldridge, who used to train at the Quays Swimming and Diving Complex in Southampton, finished seventh (388.55).
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