In a contest where the leaders were tied multiple times, American James Lichtenstein seized gold in the men’s high diving World Cup in Porto Flavia, Italy, on Sunday. The 2025 world champ edged out the 2023 world champ Constantin Popovici by 5.10 points. Carlos Gimeno placed third, just ahead of Gary Hunt.
Just five weeks after winning gold at the 2025 world championships in Singapore, American James Lichtenstein captured the 2025 World Cup title on his final dive – his signature back quint – at an old zinc and lead mine carved into a cliff in Porto Flavia, Italy.
Heading into Sunday’s decisive fourth round, only 8.35 points separated the top four divers.
Two-time world champion Gary Hunt, 41, was in the lead, just 4.75 points ahead of a second-place tie between Lichtenstein and the 2023 world champ Constantin Popovici. Carlos Gimeno, the 2025 world championship silver medalist, lurked in fourth place, 3.20 points off the tie.
In the final round, Gimeno was the first of the four contenders to dive. He posted 135.15 points for his back quint, so the pressure was on. Popovici was next. The Romanian threw the hardest dive of the entire two-day contest, even though he didn’t really need the 6.0 DD because his young rival Aidan Heslop – who notoriously breaks DD barriers – was still recovering from back surgery. Popovici landed his armstand back 3½ with 3 twists with an uncharacteristic splash, but he still scored high enough to take the lead with a total of 406.20 points.
Lichtenstein was next. He did a back quint (same as Gimeno), but scored almost all 9.0s to claim the lead with 411.30 points.
Gary Hunt, the O.G. of high diving, was the last man standing on the spectacular tower built just over the UNESCO-protected mine.
Hunt chose to do a back triple with four twists (a somewhat unusual choice because Hunt has admitted that he struggles with “the twisties” – the same problem that caused American gymnast Simone Biles to withdraw during the Tokyo Olympics). Hunt scored 104.00 points, but it was only good for fourth place – 34.35 points behind the winner Lichtenstein, and 22.8 points off a third-place tie with Gimeno.
Hunt said afterwards, “It’s a privilege to close the show, but I didn’t close it [with gold] today so I’ll be frustrated for a little while. I think I was just going through the motions on the last part of the [final] dive, instead of using my eyes, looking at the water, and adjusting. I need to be a little more aware. I’ll take the mistake, learn from it, and do better next time.
Overall, Hunt, 41, said, “I’m happy with what I managed to do here. I’m back in the swing of things.”
Lichtenstein, the winner, said, “The start of the season was not too hot, but at World Aquatics events, I’ve been killing it. It’s amazing to be on top of the world now. Honestly, my goal was to hit the podium. I knew I was a little bit back. I can’t help but do a little math in my head. But as soon as I step on the platform, I’m locked in, not worried about anything else.
The 30-year-old Lichtenstein continued: “I had really high expectations coming from world champs. First day, I was not happy with my dives but I wasn’t watching much of the comp and I guess a lot of people weren’t happy with their dives so I was still in the race. Today the vibes were good. I was more focused. The waves weren’t as bad, wind wasn’t as bad. [My last dive] felt pretty fast. It felt like I kicked out pretty early and really needed to work it around, but I guess I put it down.”
Runner-up Popovici said, “I’m happy with the podium, but I know I could have done better the third round. I only scored 7.5s and I usually go for like 8s or 9s, so I think I lost first place in the third round.”
As for his final armstand give with the huge 6.0 DD, Popovici said it’s a dive he’d been performing for the last three years. “Last year it wasn’t not so consistent. At the world championships, it was really good. It’s getting back to good scores, 8s and 9s. I’m happy with today.”
Gimeno, the third-place finisher from Spain, was all smiles and gratitude as he thanked the fans – all of whom were in kayaks, rafts, sailboats, or paddleboards due to the venue’s sheer drop into the sea.
“I need to have some motivation from the audience,” Gimeno said. “When they scream or say things, I can feel it. They motivate me to put in my best performance. I can’t wait to be here every year and put in my best for the people, for Sardinia, for Porto Flavia. This location is amazing, it’s magic.”
Contributing: Torin Koos