Heartbreak for silver medallist Carlos Gimeno, who led throughout the competition but fell 3.6 points behind champion James Lichtenstein after the final dive, while 2023 World Champion Constantin Popovici claimed bronze in the Men's 27m event.
The hardest dives in the world were performed today by 14 finalists in the Men’s 27m Final, held on 27 July in Sentosa. In rounds five and six, the competitors executed their optional dives, where the degree of difficulty was unlimited. The final standings were determined by combining the scores from these two optional dives with rounds one and three from the preliminaries.
It was an unbelievable moment for James Lichtenstein, who led only at the very end - when it counted most - to win gold. The 30-year-old from Illinois had remained in second and third place throughout the competition, but in the final round, he secured the win by just 3.6 points over silver medallist Carlos Gimeno.
“A dream came true. I’ve been training really hard for this. Had a tough start to the season for me. It’s a new format. These guys, we’re all doing more dives than we’re used to, but we all train accordingly. I knew my DD is in the higher end of the range, but there are people who have higher DD than me, so I was gonna put in the work that I needed to do," Lichtenstein reflects.
"Honestly, I could have done better. I wasn’t happy with my fifth run dive, but, that’s the name of the game. Everyone hits and sometimes you miss, but I am absolutely thrilled right now. I know I can dive well, but to put it together when it counts is a thrilling feeling.”
The former trampoline specialist, who made his high diving world debut in 2023 and won a silver medal at the 2024 World Cup in Bahrain, was consistent throughout the rounds in Singapore. One standout dive for him was the final round’s 20(10)C (Back 5 Somersaults tuck), which earned 9s from the judges.
Both Gimeno and Lichtenstein performed the exact same dives in the final, though in a different order. Remarkably, they received the same score on the 20(10)C dive and entered the finals just two points apart after rounds one and three of the prelims.
Carlos Gimeno, who had been leading the competition, faced dramatic disappointment in the final round. A slight over-rotation on the landing of his round six dive cost him the title. Arguably, it was his only major mistake in the entire event.
“I think the pressure (got to me) a little bit. In the handstand, I felt a little tired, that’s why I couldn’t hold the handstand. I couldn’t control so I landed a little bit over. I tried to give everything and that’s what I did. I gave everything. But it’s painful," Gimeno explains
"Being all the time first in the competition, and in the end just miss a little bit, that hurt a lot. That’s something I will remember and I will feel here (in my heart). But I’m proud. I put my best performance. God didn’t want to give me the gold medal this time. This is what happens in the sport. It’s like this – sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t finish first. Chin up, I’m proud of what I did."
“Next is the World Cup in Italy, Sardinia. I’m going to have to win that one. Now I will remove what I have inside and I will wait for that one. I will continue training and keep trying next time. Second in the world is not bad, but I’m training to be the best in the world." he continued
Bronze went to the 2023 World Championships champion Constantin Popovici, who executed the hardest dive list of the day, with degrees of difficulty of 6.0 and 5.8.
“I feel good, I’m happy. You know, everybody is wishing for gold, the best place possible. A lot of us could have taken gold today. A lot of us could have been out of the podium. That’s how it is in the competition. Like swimming, you can miss by a few seconds or here, a few points. I’m really grateful for this year’s bronze." Popovici said.
The 36-year-old Romanian had entered the final slightly lower in the rankings due to his required and intermediate dive scores in the prelims. However, in the finals, Popovici delivered two consistent dives that secured him third place with an overall score of 408.70. He narrowly edged out Jonathan Paredes of Mexico, who placed fourth with 407.40 points, and fellow Romanian Catalin-Petru Preda, who finished fifth with 405.25.
Notably, Preda performed the most difficult dive of this Men’s 27m competition: 629B (Armstand back 4 1/2 somersaults pike) with a 6.1 degree of difficulty. It was also the highest-scoring dive of the entire competition, earning 149.45 points.
In sixth place were French legend Gary Hunt and Italy’s Andrea Barnaba, who both earned the exact same score of 375.30.
With the Singapore 2025 high diving programme concluded, the next event on the calendar is the World Aquatics High Diving World Cup 2025, which will take place from August 30 to 31 in Porto Flavia, Italy.