Friday marked a fascinating start to the 2026 season of high diving.<\/p>\n
Five-time world champion Rhiannan Iffland<\/a> was missing. So was James Lichtenstein<\/a>, who won the 2025 world title. On the other hand, Aidan Heslop<\/a> was returning, but no one knew what the 2024 world champion could do after his year-long absence due to back surgery. Then, on Friday, when the men\u2019s leaderboard appeared to be set after the second round, a two-time world medalist was granted a rare re-dive. Meanwhile, on the women\u2019s side, a pair of Canadian world medalists were eclipsed by a teenager. Find out what exactly transpired and what the athletes had to say.<\/p>\n Image Source: Istvan Derencsenyi\/World Aquatics<\/p>\n In the women\u2019s 20m event, no one was surprised that two-time World Championship silver medalist Molly Carlson<\/a>, 27, of Canada took an early lead after the first dive. But in round two, immediately after the Swiss Harvard graduate Morgane Herculano<\/a> scored 98.00 points for her inward triple with a half twist, a 19-year-old Ukrainian, Nelli Chukanivska<\/a>, laid out a stunning armstand back 2\u00bd pike to pop into second place, just 2.0 points behind Herculano.<\/p>\n When the divers were finished, Germany\u2019s Iris Schmidbauer<\/a>, 31, was in third place, and Ginni van Katwijk<\/a> of the Netherlands was fourth. Carlson, the Canadian favourite who has more than seven million followers on social media, was in fifth place, trailing Herculano by 14.30 points with two dives remaining on Saturday.<\/p>\n After Friday\u2019s dives, Herculano, 26, was thrilled to lead the field. \u201cBody’s phenomenal, mind\u2019s phenomenal,\u201d she said. \u201cI mean, I love the sport.<\/p>\n “It’s my first time being so highly ranked after two rounds”<\/p>\n By Morgane Herculano<\/p>\n \u201cI love this pool. I’ve been training here since the beginning of the year. Conditions were ideal: no wind, prime weather, prime vibes. The inward\u2019s been my trickiest dive. I had a few mishaps in training over the offseason where I hit the platform a couple times. Definitely the hardest dive in my list. I’m stoked.\u201d<\/p>\n Chukanivska, the teenager, was also happy \u2013 especially since it was her first time competing in Fort Lauderdale. \u201cThe tower is very beautiful, very perfect,\u201d she said. On Saturday, expect Chukanivska to be a medal threat. The young star made her first Red Bull Cliff Diving podium at age 17.<\/p>\n The eldest woman in the top three, Schmidbauer, had brought her 20-month-old daughter, Leilani, with her to Florida, \u201cI’m very relieved, very happy,\u201d she said. \u201cI was super excited to show my back triple [flip] double [twist] again. Last year, I took a twist out of that dive because I was still breastfeeding and I didn’t have the power. But this year, I was excited to do it again – first time after pregnancy competing this big dive. I’m super stoked that it went well in the comp. I’m excited to see what’s gonna happen tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n In the first round of the men\u2019s event, multiple ties meant that six men were ranked in the top four, all separated by 4.2 points.<\/p>\n