The world’s best divers are coming to Berlin. For four days, they will perform at the FINA Diving World Cup from October 20 – 23 in the German capital and thus even one day longer than the athletes at the parallel FINA Swimming World Cup. For the first time, both events will be held together at the same venue, with the stage still belonging entirely to the jumpers on the first day.
On Thursday all preliminaries in the individual disciplines from the 3m-springboard and the 10m platform will be held (in the synchronized disciplines as well as in the team competition there will only be finals). Fans who really want to see all the top stars should therefore definitely come to the SSE arena on this day. The finals are scheduled from Friday to Sunday.
The diving highlights on Friday: At this year’s World Championships in Budapest (HUN), the Chinese divers were unbeatable and took away all 13 gold medals. At the FINA Diving World Cup the aces from China are also clearly favored not only on the first day of finals. Wang Zongyuan (gold) and Cao Yuan (silver), the top two athletes of the World Championships, will compete in the 3m individual event. Shixin Lin, born in China, but now competing for Australia, is also a former two-time World Champion on the 1m springboard. Yiwei Chew from Malaysia and Jamaican Yona Knight-Wisdom, who have both repeatedly reached the podium at the FINA Grand Prix in the past, as well as the seventh of the World Championships, Jules Bouyer (FRA), are not to be underestimated. In the women’s 10m-synchronized, the Chinese Chen Yuxi and Quan Hongchan will have to face, among others, the Americans Katrina Young and Morenike Agunbiade – Young won silver at the recent World Championships with a different partner. In the men’s event, the world champions Lian Junjie and Yang Hao from China are the ones to beat. But also the German pair with Timo Barthel and Jaden Eikermann wants to shine again after winning the bronze medal at the European Championships in Rome (ITA).
The diving highlights on Saturday: Pauline Pfeif finished fourth from the 10m platform at the European Championships, just missing a medal. The FINA Diving World Cup is a real home game for the Berlin-based diver, and she is now aiming for another top place, although the competition is notable. Olympic champion Quan Hongchan and world champion Chen Yuxi are the first to be mentioned here, along with World Championship bronze medalist Pandelela Pamg (MAS) and the American Katrina Young. The Chinese Chen Yiwen and Chang Yani (women) and Wang Zongyuan and Cao Yuan (men), each pair World champions, are also the non plus ultra in the two synchronized competitions from the 3m springboard.
The diving highlights on Sunday: Before the final and always thrilling team competition, there are two more individual decisions on the final day, here again with the role of favorites for the athletes from China. In the women’s competition from the 3m springboard, Chen Yiwen, the reigning World Champion, and Chang Yani, the World Championship bronze medalist, are represented, as well as Sayaka Miyami, the World Championship silver medalist in the 3m synchronized diving. From the German point of view, Jette Müller, 2021 junior world champion in this discipline, is expecting a lot. In the men’s 10m , the competition is similarly high-class, with Yang Jian and Yang Hao, the world champion and the world championship third, as well as the American talent Joshua Hedberg, who already competed at the age of 15 at the World Championships in Budapest. The German colors are represented by Jaden Eikermann and Timo Barthel, for whom the competition also means a reunion with an old acquaintance: Barthel has been good friends with Yang Jian for many years and can hardly wait to finally meet him in person again in Berlin.
Combi tickets for water jumping and swimming
Thanks to combined tickets, fans can not only watch the diving competitions, but also the performances of the world’s best swimmers at the FINA Swimming World Cup. Tickets for the double event are available online or can be purchased via the ticket hotline (Tel.: 01806 99 11 84). Day tickets cost between 15.00 (Thursday) and 29.00 euros (all other days) in advance or between 18.00 and 32.00 euros at the box office. The season ticket for all four days is available for 90.00 euros in advance or for 100.00 euros at the box office. Discounts (2.00 euros per day) and group discounts for clubs (up to 15 percent) are possible.
