Eleven finals have been contested over the opening two days of action in Plymouth, with four divers already making repeat trips to the top step of the podium.
The early stages of the British Elite Junior Diving Championships In Memory of David Jenkins has showcased the resilience of Britain’s young divers, with the competition marking the long awaited return of elite national competition for the junior age-groups.
One of the seven pre-selected World Junior Championship team members, Leon Baker (Southampton Diving Academy), had a particularly busy Wednesday programme as he secured the Boys B 1m title on 402.00 points before teaming up with Hugo Thomas (Dive London) to be crowned victors in the Boys 19&U 3m Synchro. The pair particularly impressing the judges with a finely executed inward 2½ somersaults pike (405B) for 67.50 points in the third round.
Championship experience shone through in further events on the primary afternoon of action as 2021 European Junior gold medallist, Tyler Humphreys (Dive London), backed up a leading performance in the Boys A 3m Springboard preliminaries to take gold in the final with a total accumulation of 525.20 points. Olympians Eden Cheng and Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix (Crystal Palace Diving) produced a polished display true to their seasoned international exposure, comfortably closing out the Girls 19&U Platform over five dives, with Cheng adding the Girls A Platform title to her accomplishments on the Thursday, as she added a reverse 2½ somersaults tuck (305C) to her list of optional dives performed with her club mate the preceding afternoon.
Jordan Fisher-Eames and Oscar Kane (Luton Diving Club) shared the podium on successive days as they firstly triumphed in a head to head in the Boys 13&U 3m Synchro, with the former awarded 75.60 points for his back 2½ somersaults tuck (205C) to have the edge in a Luton Diving 1-2 in the Boys C Platform final.
Continuing in the lowest age-group category, it was Corin Burrows Mackley (Dive London) who came out on top in the Girls C 1m Springboard, with two divers competing on home soil, Amelie Underwood and Scarlett Colbourne (Plymouth Diving Club) completing the podium. Whilst up a category, Evie Smith (Crystal Palace Diving) took the honours in the Girls B 1m Springboard having improved her efforts on her inward 1½ somersaults pike (403B) and forward 2½ somersaults pike (105B) from prelim to final.
Synchro competition rounded out the Thursday’s time at the pool, with Hugo Thomas becoming the fourth diver to make a return trip to the top of the podium at the championships as he paired Ben Cutmore (Dive London) in the Boys 19&U Platform Synchro. The Dive London duo produced back to back dives above 70 points in the third and fourth rounds to set themselves up for the title. It was Amy Rollinson (Luton Diving Club) and Desharne Bent-Ashmeil (Dive London) who brought the curtain down on day two, with their highlight in the fourth round coming from landing a forward 2½ somersaults 1 twist pike (5152B) for 62.10 points on the way to Girls 19&U 3m Synchro gold.
Full results and live scoring from the event can be found on diverecorder.co.uk
