The 2024 World Aquatics Athlete of the Year Awards have been announced, and the honours for high diving go to Aidan Heslop from Great Britain and Molly Carlson from Canada. Both athletes have had an exceptional year, solidifying themselves into the elite of aquatic sports.
Aidan Heslop
For Aidan Heslop, 2024 was a defining year. At the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar, he secured his first gold medal with a flawless forward quad with 3½ twists - the hardest dive ever completed at a World Aquatics Championships.
Heslop entered the final round in the top three, needing 105.55 points to overtake James Lichtenstein of the USA, who had climbed from 10th to 1st place. Heslop’s 6.2-degree of difficulty dive scored 151.90 points, bringing his total to 422.95 to secure the gold. This marked Great Britain’s first medal in the event at the World Aquatics Championships since 2019.
But Aidan’s year didn’t stop there. In November, he became the youngest male diver to win the overall title at the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. He finished 5th in the final event in Australia, amassing enough points to clinch the title. Heslop ended with 113 points - 16 ahead of Lichtenstein in second. He won four of the eight stages in the 2024 series, taking victories in the USA, Canada, Türkiye and Northern Ireland. He was also named Best Male High Diver at the 2024 European Aquatics Awards.
Molly Carlson
Molly Carlson’s 2024 season was equally outstanding. At the World Aquatics Championships, she claimed a silver medal in the women’s high diving event, cementing her status as one of the most consistent divers in the world. Representing Canada, Carlson went head-to-head with Australia’s Rhiannan Iffland, finishing with 320.70 points to take second place.
Her success continued throughout the year. At the World Aquatics High Diving World Cup in Bahrain in September, she took home the gold medal with 324.20 points. Carlson also finished second overall in the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.
The two athletes now look to continue their remarkable form in the lead up to the World Aquatics Championships Singapore 2025.