Sport-heute: Sailing - Red Bull Cliff Diving hits Hamburg Harbor

04. September 2009, 09:34

Red Bull Cliff Diving hits Hamburg Harbor

It’s all about those breathtaking 20 or 30 meters, those two to three seconds of freefall from rocks and bridges, when those hardy souls known as cliff divers perform the most amazing moves, somersaults and twists, before hitting the water’s surface at up to 90km/h.

Hamburg, 4.9.09 (mk) On August 19-23, 2008, Red Bull athlete and world champion Orlando Duque (COL) took this extreme sport to Hamburg, Germany. The metropolis’ industrial harbor became host to the Red Bull Cliff Diving finals, combining the pure art of high diving with a strikingly urban event location.

Most people would not have wanted to be in Orlando Duque’s position that Saturday evening, August 23. The Colombian cliff diving legend was standing on a small platform fixed onto the yard of the historical Rickmer Rickmers’ sailboat, 25.5m above the murky waters of the harbor.

Duque let his dark brown eyes wander across the impressive skyline of Hamburg with sailing ships, container cranes, and rows of houses before he closed his eyes again to look inside of himself and prepare for his dive: three somersaults and one and a half twists executed in a pike position.

Duque is a nine-times world champion in cliff diving, and one of the most charismatic representatives of the sport. His life and passion have been portrayed in the fascinating movie “9dives”. What athletes like Orlando Duque need to survive and excel in this extreme sport are utmost concentration, perfect body control and an incredible amount of courage.

Without any kind of protective equipment, cliff divers leap from rocks, bridges, and cranes to freefall the equivalent of 10 stories and unleash a vertiginous set of artistic movements until they brutally break through the concrete-like water surface. Entering the water is done feet-first, as head-first would be suicidal considering the speed a cliff diver usually accelerates to on his or her way down.

The entry is the most precarious and dangerous part of the whole dive: it must be totally vertical, and every single muscle in the diver’s body must be tensed to the max. Relaxation or over-rotation could be a very painful, if not lethal experience. High-profile cliff divers regularly train in the gym to be able to withstand the forces and strain of their sport. They also practice their moves and jumps on a trampoline and from a diving board in the swimming pool.

In his quest for new and exciting challenges for himself and his fellow divers, Duque had visited Hamburg some time ago to see what the city had to offer. He was stunned and couldn’t believe the endless opportunities the harbor provided for cliff diving. He pushed the idea of an urban cliff diving event and became the co-initiator of Red Bull Cliff Diving 2008 in Hamburg.

“The historical harbor of Hamburg is the perfect venue because it offers a most spectacular urban setting for our project,” says Duque. “We are kicking off something totally new as we bring our sport to the people in the cities!”

And so the world’s best and most respected cliff diving athletes gathered in the German port to conquer the harbor and celebrate cliff diving at its best. On day one, they catapulted themselves out of a window of the Miniatur Wunderland in the Speicherstadt (old warehouse district).

“Cliff diving in the Speicherstadt was extremely inspiring for me,” said European champion Anna Bader from Germany, the only woman among a group of elite international cliff diving guys. “I loved the brick walls, the canal and the history of the location – it was awesome! It felt like I was jumping into an urban Grand Canyon!”

The next day, the athletes launched from a cargo ship crane and an old Israeli cargo ship on the massive Unikai compound, and then off the historic cranes at the 50er Schuppen.

“When you stand up straight on such a huge crane or cargo ship you tend to feel intimidated, even though we are all used to such heights,” Duque explains. “The charm and excitement of cliff diving here is the fact that we are leaving our comfort zone, which is usually the clean sea, some tepid wind and the sun. We are facing totally new conditions and views here. It’s a great challenge.”

On August 23, Duque, Bader, José Eber Pava Ordoñez (COL), Hassan Mouti (FRA), Gary Hunt (GBR), Alain Kohl (LUX), Vitali Ruhl (RUS), Cyrille Oumedjkane (FRA), Andrey Ignatenko (UKR) and Michal Navratil (CZE) arrived to jump the Rickmer Rickmers for the grande finale.

Despite heavy rainfall, an estimated 1,500 spectators had come to the Landungsbrücken area at the harbor to witness the competitors’ breathtaking diving. Five international judges had also traveled to Hamburg to judge the dives according to the criteria of degree of difficulty, dynamic take-off, technique and execution, aesthetics and style, as well as vertical entry with as little splash water as possible.

The outside conditions were anything but perfect for a cliff diving event, however, and Red Bull athlete Bader said: “Of course, we wouldn’t mind some better weather but we can definitely deal with it. None of us would ever want to miss the chance of diving in front of such an unbelievable backdrop!”

Bader kicked off the finals performing a super clean Handstand-Auerbach to the delight of the crowd.

The first heat saw the athletes performing some impressive dives off the 25.5m platform on the Rickmer Rickmers. Double somersaults, two or three twists in a row, reverse or handstand take-offs – the spectators were cheering like crazy! Difficult jumps nicely executed, followed by some clean entries put Duque, Hunt and Oumedjkane in the lead.

Shortly after, in the second and final heat, Ordoñez unleashed an explosive triple somersault with one and a half twists executed in a pike position. His high score was to mark the beginning of a Colombian triumph in Hamburg. Gary Hunt performed the same jump, technically perfect in the beginning, but with a slight over-rotation at the end.

The final diver of the final heat was Duque. Twilight had already set in, so conditions became even more challenging. Orlando closed his eyes – the only diver known to keep them closed during the entire jump. He breathed in, swung his arms above his head and took off! Three perfectly timed somersaults and one and a half clean twists later, Colombian leadership in Hamburg was sealed! He entered the water like a needle with no splash at all to win the Red Bull Cliff Diving 2008, ahead of his countryman Ordoñez and Hunt.

“I’m extremely happy,” said Orlando with a broad grin on his tanned face. “After a week of touring and jumping the amazing Hamburg harbor, winning this event is like a dream come true. I also really appreciate the spectators who stayed with us all the time despite the rain. Hamburg is great, and I’m sure to be back soon!”

Leserkommentare (0) »