The conclusion of the 2025 Aquatics GB Diving Winter Cup saw Yasmin Harper and Ben Cutmore step up their game from prelims to final to secure a spot on top of the podium.
A classy performance from Yasmin Harper (City of Sheffield Diving) saw her take the Women’s 3m Springboard title in the opening Sunday afternoon action on display at Ponds Forge.
The Paris 2024 synchro bronze medallist had qualified top out of the prelims, and the repeated consistency across her list proved a driving factor behind her title-winning score of 321.65. That total was greatly helped by Harper’s fourth round Reverse 2 1/2 Somersault Pike (305B) recording the best individual dive score of the contest.
Dive London’s Amy Rollinson recovered well from a misplace dive in the third round to take silver, with Tilly Brown (City of Sheffield Diving) placing third for bronze in her home pool.
“It started off a little bit shaky in the morning [prelims] and then my first dive here was a little bit off but I managed to pull myself together for the final four dives.” Said Harper,
“For it to be the competition back since the Olympics I feel relieved I got that one out the way and pleased with the result. My first hurdle was a bit shaky, and then I thought ‘I’m just going to have to get a grip now’ – safety doesn’t really work in diving, so I had to pull myself together and I was pleased that it built into that good run of dives as the competition went on.
“The 3m to me is the important one, so I was disappointed after Friday [in the 1m Springboard] but now this has gone well it’s a good opening competition to start my year.”
Bringing the curtain down in Sheffield was the Men’s 10m Platform final, with both Ben Cutmore (Dive London) and Euan McCabe (Plymouth Diving) stepping up their performances from prelims to final in a bid for the national title.
Just 3.05 points separated the pair going into the closing stages after McCabe’s fifth round Forward 4 1/2 Somersaults Tuck (109C) scored 77.70 to cut down the deficit on Cutmore’s lead - but the Stephen Hewatt-coached diver responded to score 83.25 with the very same dive in the final round. This was ultimately enough to edge McCabe into silver despite a strong closing dive for the Plymouth diver, while Shane McConnell (Edinburgh Diving Club) rounded out the British podium in bronze position.
“So today there was a big discrepancy between my prelim and my final and I’d like to thank God that I was able to find the courage and the faith to stand up there on the board today and actually perform the way the I feel that I’ve been training.” Said Cutmore,
“My training recently has been good, this morning I felt very distracted and unfocused so I’d like to give all the glory to God for bringing me back into the right mindset and helping me move forwards into this final with a bit more focus.
“I’m very hopeful to get onto some of the world stage competitions this year, because the previous few years I’ve been going to the Europeans which have been great but I would really like to start moving forwards towards these world events now.”
Sharing a little insight into the conversations with coach between rounds, Cutmore added:
“I’m really grateful for Steve, he’s a great coach – between dives that chat it’s really just a technical point for me to focus on and then something else in there which is a mental thing to encourage me and lift me for the next round.”
For full results from the Aquatics GB Diving Winter Cup, visit DiveRecorder - and you can watch back every session on our YouTube channel.