Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
The Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center in Florida is hosting the High Diving World Cup season opener, with 35 professional athletes from 15 countries set to compete. Men will perform two dives daily from a 27-meter platform, while women will dive from a 20-meter platform. Winners will be determined by the highest combined scores across Friday and Saturday.
Following the professional event, the second-ever High Diving Junior World Championships will be held at the same venue. Fourteen junior athletes will compete from a 15-meter tower across two age groups: Group A (ages 17-19) and Group B (ages 15-16), resulting in four medal events divided by gender and age.
Key competitors in the women's pro field include Canadian divers Molly Carlson and Simone Leathead, both with multiple world championship silver medals since 2023. Carlson is also the defending Fort Lauderdale champion. The U.S. is represented by Kaylea Arnett and Meili Carpenter. Australia’s five-time world champion Rhiannan Iffland will not compete due to a late withdrawal.
The men's event features former world champions such as Romania's Constantin Popovici and Great Britain's Aidan Heslop, the 2024 gold medalist returning after back surgery. Spain’s Carlos Gimeno and Romania’s Catalin-Petru Preda, both recent medalists at world championships, are expected contenders. Reigning world champion James Lichtenstein of the USA will miss the event due to injury.
In the junior competition, many athletes return from the inaugural event held in Brasilia in 2024. That event was shortened by weather, allowing only the 15-16-year-old girls’ group to complete all four dives. Medalists from that group, including champion Lacey Hema, will now compete in the older age bracket (17-19).