Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix saw ten’s from the judges as she closed out her Women’s 10m Platform win in Edinburgh, while Ross Haslam rounded out his 2023 competition calendar with gold in the Men’s 1m Springboard.
A high quality Women’s 10m Platform final saw Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix (Dive London Aquatics) steal the headlines with an outstanding list - capped off in the final round with her Back 2 1/2 Somersaults 1 1/2 Twists Pike (5253B) receiving 89.60 points from the judges as the ten’s came into play on the scorecard.
Returning to the platform after Thursday’s synchro gold with Lois Toulson, the Alex Rochas-coached diver looked in commanding form from the off and further solidified her standing at the top of the standings in round two with a polished Inward 3 1/2 Somersaults Tuck (407C).
In her complete gold medal performance Spendolini-Sirieix didn’t have a single judges mark count towards her total of any less than an eight, and her overall score of 393.50 was a personal landmark for the 19-year old.
“It definitely is a nice way to round out the year, and to start the season off with a gold medal and a personal best score is something I’ve been working towards with Alex [Rochas]. I’m so happy and still have a lot of adrenaline running but with that result I’m really chuffed.” said Spendolini-Sirieix,
“Twist is one of those dives I’ve been really working on, and so this competition I just gave it all to God and I was trying to be as peaceful as possible. I was happy, whether I got ten’s or not I was going to be happy to land that dive in at the end but seeing those scores is very encouraging.”
Toulson (City of Leeds Diving) took the silver on 340.20 with a consistent showing across the five rounds, with Eden Cheng (Dive London Aquatics) completing the podium on a score of 314.45 for bronze.
Speaking positively of the atmosphere among her competitors, Andrea added:
“That internal competition definitely helps drive us forward, but also very encouraging of one another – we’re friends and it’s always great to be in competitions together.”
![Ross Haslam [Ian MacNicol / Scottish Swimming]](https://www.aquaticsgb.com/media/images/Ross_Haslam_2.width-800.jpg)
Saturday’s finals action started with Ross Haslam securing victory in the Men’s 1m Springboard. The Sheffield diver looked highly composed through his early dives, and a brilliantly-executed Forward 2 1/2 Somersaults 1 Twist Pike (5152B) in round three scored him 73.60 points as he began to stamp his authority on the contest.
Haslam’s Forward 3 1/2 Somersaults Pike (107B) in the fourth round equally impressed the judges, and memory of a dropped his fifth dive was quickly erased as the European Games gold medallist finished in style with his Inward 2 1/2 Somersaults Pike (405B) the dive of the final – securing 83.30 points to secure the title on a closing total of 400.70.
“I’m happy – five out of six rounds were really good.” said Haslam
“I just had that slight drop on my second to last round but it’s given me a nice practice digging in on the last round and to do a good dive [under that pressure] I’m really happy with that as well.”
“My fifth dive is normally a good one for me but I got what felt like a great take-off and I was just a bit excited then dropped it a little bit short. I knew I had a good one to finish and I like to put a good dive as my final dive so I just thought ‘I’ve got one more to go, put it in as well as you can’.
On how 2023 has been a huge boost heading into the forthcoming season, Haslam added:
“It’s been a busy year for me especially when I haven’t been well enough injury wise to do really anything for the last couple of years, so this year’s been a huge change and really nice to come out and compete consistently again. I feel like every competition I’ve done that my confidence has improved and I’ve been able to get back into my rhythm – this is a nice way to finish it all heading into Christmas.”
The silver medal went to James Heatly (Edinburgh Diving), who improved across his list from prelims to final to score 372.30 points, with Matthew Dixon (Dive London Aquatics) taking the British National Diving Cup bronze on a final points tally of 364.65.
The Scottish National Diving Championships inc. The British Diving Cup 2023 draws to a close on Sunday, with the Women's 3m Springboard and Men's 10m Platform providing the final action from the diving boards in Edinburgh.
For full results from the third day of action, visit DiveRecorder.
Image credit: Ian MacNicol/Scottish Swimming