Ten years of spectacle: Red Bull Cliff Diving in Mostar

The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series this week marks ten years of being held on the iconic Old Bridge in Mostar, as the battle for the King Kahekili trophies enters the decisive second half of the season. From July 30 to August 1, athletes from 13 countries will gather at Stari most, one of the most anticipated stops of the season. This year, Bosnia and Herzegovina celebrates ten years of presence in the World Series calendar.

With three different winners in the men's competition so far, the current champion Rhiannan Iffland from Australia, who is chasing another victory at one of her most successful locations, and the championship entering the second part of the season, the Mostar station carries special weight.

As the championship enters the second half, every point becomes more and more important. Three stations produced three different winners in the men's competition. Great Britain's Aidan Heslop, USA's James Lichtenstein and Romania's Constantin Popovici each claimed one win, leaving the race for the King Kahekili trophy wide open.

Heslop's remarkable comeback after last year's injury has brought the Briton to the top of the overall standings, despite the fact that he is performing with an invitation, i.e. as a wildcard. He now has a chance to become the next male invite to win a World Series title, after France's Gary Hunt did it in 2025.

After the victory in Copenhagen, Popovici returns to the place where he achieved his last triumph in Mostar in 2025, with the aim of continuing his winning streak. The 37-year-old Romanian is also within reach of a new major as he is currently tied for second on the all-time winning list with 11 World Series victories.

The women's competition returns to one of the favorite locations of the phenomenal Rhiannan Iffland. The competition has been held in Mostar eight times so far and produced five different winners, but Iffland is still the only athlete who has won more than once at this location.

With a record four victories, including last year's edition, the Australian is the most successful jumper in the history of the competition at Stari Most. As the current leader of the World Series, she continues her campaign towards the tenth consecutive overall title, and with a new victory in Bosnia and Herzegovina, she would further strengthen her position ahead of the last two stops of the season.

And her rivals come to Mostar with their own goals and records that are within their reach. Canadian Molly Carlson needs just one more podium finish to reach a total of 25 World Series podiums, while last year's runner-up in Mostar, Australian Xantheia Pennisi, returns to one of her most successful venues. A new ranking among the top three would mean her tenth podium in her career.

In the overall standings, Canada's Simone Leathead, Carlson and Americans Lisa Faulkner and Kaylea Arnett are currently in contention for podium spots as the season enters its decisive phase.

There are few battlegrounds that embody the spirit of cliff diving, i.e. jumping from cliffs, like Stari most. Since being added to the World Series calendar in 2015, this UNESCO World Heritage Site has become one of the sport's most recognizable venues.

Stari Most has been the stage for many unforgettable moments, from Jonathan Paredes' first World Series win in 2015 and Constantin Popovic's perfect performance with five maximum 10s in 2019, to championship-winning performances.

An impressive stone arch connects the banks of the emerald Neretva and remains at the heart of the centuries-old Mostar tradition of diving. In honor of that tradition, the first round of jumps will once again be performed directly from the old bridge, after which the competition for the remaining rounds will move to a specially built platform.

An additional festive atmosphere to the jubilee is given by the fact that this year's competition is being held for the first time in the height of the Bosnian summer, at the transition between July and August, that is, during the busiest part of the season in Mostar. High temperatures and thousands of visitors will turn the banks of the Neretva into a natural amphitheater for one of the most spectacular sporting events in the world.

Ten years after the World Series first arrived under the famous Stari Most, Mostar has become much more than just a battleground. It is where centuries-old local tradition meets the highest level of modern cliff diving and where one of the key weekends in the battle for the King Kahekili trophies in the 2026 season will be held. Those who will not be able to visit Mostar during the competition will be able to watch the jumps from the Old Bridge live on the YouTube channel of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series on Friday and Saturday, while the live broadcast of the final day of the competition, on Saturday, is also provided via the Red Bull TV and Hayat TV platforms.

The competitors with an invitation, or wildcard, in Mostar are Stella Forsyth from Australia, Maike Halbisch from Germany, Morgane Herculano from Switzerland, Iris Schmidbauer from Germany, Michael Foisy from Canada, Miguel Garcia from Colombia, Sergio Guzman from Mexico, Aidan Heslop from Great Britain, Yolotl Martinez from Mexico and Pierrick Schafer from Switzerland. In the overall standings after three of the six stops, Rhiannan Iffland from Australia leads the women's standings with 57 points. They are followed by Simone Leathead from Canada with 37, Molly Carlson from Canada with 33, Lisa Faulkner from the USA with 33 and Kaylea Arnett from the USA with 31 points.

Among the men, Aidan Heslop from Great Britain, who performs with an invitation, leads with 52 points. Second is James Lichtenstein from the USA with 44 points, third is Constantin Popovici from Romania with 35, fourth is Catalin Preda from Romania with 32, and fifth is Jonathan Paredes from Mexico with 23 points.

*Photo: Red Bull