Just 13 days after closing the diving competition at the World Aquatics Championships – Fukuoka 2023, the world’s best 3m and 10m athletes will reconvene in Berlin to contest the World Cup Super Final this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 4-6 August.
They’re back! After collectively winning the 2023 world championship team trophy, China’s eight gold medalists Chen Yuxi, Quan Hongchan, Chen Yiwen, Chang Yani, Lian Junjie, Yang Hao, Wang Zongyuan, and Long Daoyi are ready to win new titles in Berlin.
So, too, is Cassiel Rousseau of Australia, the 22-year-old from Brisbane who scored a massive upset in an ultra-competitive men’s 10m final on the last day of the world championships to not only claim gold but also to break China’s six-year streak of winning every world title it had contested.
But these athletes didn’t get invited to Germany based on their results in Japan.
Rather, the 2023 World Aquatics World Cup Super Final start lists are based on rankings from the two previous World Cup stops: in Xi’an China in April, and in Montreal, Canada, in May. The top-18 divers in individual events made the cut, as did the top eight synchro nations.
Some of the other headliners this weekend will include the teenage phenoms from Ukraine Kirill Boliukh and Oleksii Sereda, the men’s 10m synchro world bronze medalists from Mexico Jose Balleza and Randal Willars, triple Olympic medalist on 3m Jack Laugher of Great Britain, and Canadian individual world medalists Caeli McKay (10m) and Pamela Ware (3m).
The majority of divers who qualified for the Super Final will earn prize money in Berlin: $25,000 for first place, $20,000 for second, $15,000 for third… down to $2,000 for 12th place in the individual events. All eight synchro teams will receive winnings based on this weekend’s results, too.
The schedule will be a bit shorter than the world championships, however. Only nine events will be contested this weekend. There will be no mixed synchro and no 1m springboard at the Super Final. The line-up will only include the four men’s and four women’s Olympic disciplines, culminating with the team event on Sunday to close the 2023 international diving season.
All four synchro finals will be held on Friday. Saturday will feature two finals: men’s 3m and women’s 10m. Sunday’s three finals will be in the women’s 3m, men’s 10m, and team event.
All the final action will be streamed on World Aquatics.