In the Women’s 20m Final held on 26 July in Sentosa, the 14 competitors performed their optional dives on round 5 and 6, where the degree of difficulty was unlimited. Today's two optional dives scores combined with round 1 and 3 from the prelims determined the winners.

The Women’s 20m Final delivered surprises, highlights, and remarkable achievements. Read on for full details.

Rhiannan Iffland - 5th gold medal in a row at World Championships

Rhiannan Iffland, who led prelims, maintained her position at the top throughout finals. The 33-year-old Australian secured her fifth World Championships title after executing two outstanding dives on round 5 and 6.

“I have already achieved four in the past, and I was wondering about the possibility of winning a fifth. I came into this event knowing I could be fighting for it, but it wasn’t my main goal. It’s insane, I’m blown away, I’m kinda speechless right now. I never would have thought 10 years ago I would be holding my fifth medal.” Iffland said.

In round 5, her first optional dive of the day distanced her from the competition. She performed the highest-scoring dive of the event — a 5264B (Back 3 Somersaults 2 Twists) with a 4.3 degree of difficulty — which earned 105.35 points. Iffland’s dominant performance secured her the gold medal with a lead of 45 points.

Maya Kelly, age 18 - Youngest medallist ever in high diving at World Championships

One of the standout moments came from 18-year-old Maya Kelly, who earned a bronze medal in her debut World Championships, making her the youngest medalist ever in high diving at World Championships.

“I’m super excited, I did not expect to get a bronze medal at all, so I tried not to put too much pressure on myself coming into today, but I think that helped me in the end. I’m just glad that I showed what I could do, especially (with) the three-day competition schedule, so just putting out my best dives that I’ve done is really cool and I’m excited for the future," Kelly said.

Kelly’s clean entries and consistent dives earned her a well-deserved place on the podium. The American, who made her high diving debut last year at the World Cup 2024 in Bahrain and later won silver at the World Juniors in Brazil, has now secured her first senior medal after just two years in the sport.

"I’m just proud of myself for it to be my first time and to do the best diving I’ve ever done. I’m in the senior age group, so I’m here with a lot of older and more experienced divers. It’s definitely been an experience being the youngest one here. Just learning from my fellow divers, it’s been a really cool experience.“ 

Simone Leathead - Her first ever World Championships medal

The 22-year-old Canadian, Simone Leathead had a steady performance throughout the competition. Her final dive — a 5461B (Inward 3 Somersaults 1/2 Twist Pike) — scored 90 points and moved her from fourth to second place, earning the silver medal and her first World Championships podium finish.

“Today took a little turn because of the weather, but I’m super happy with what I did. Being able to do six dives to the best of my ability, I’m just super proud. I’m coming from a diving background and the World Championships were always on my ‘big dreams list’, so to be able to compete and do great and be able to be on the podium is just a very big accomplishment for me." Leathead said.

Talk of the Day

After today's first round of finals, the scores between Molly Carlson, Kaylea Arnett, Leathead, and Kelly were extremely close, with only a few points separating them.

Unexpected results came in the final round as both Carlson and Arnett had technical errors in their dives. This opened the door for other high divers to rise in the rankings and claim the medals.

Up Next:

High diving Men's 27m Final on Sunday at 11:00 Singapore time.