Sanctions are not a hindrance: high divers from different countries gathered in Simeiz
“We are one family,” said the 12 strongest high divers in the world at the international competition “Wings of the World” in the Crimean village of Simeiz.
Athletes from Great Britain, Germany, Poland, Spain, Brazil, Colombia, and Russia gathered in Crimea for the fifth time, despite bans, pressure, and sanctions, a correspondent reports. "PolitNavigator".
Crimea has become an international center for extreme diving competitions. No other place on the globe has had the honor of hosting the world's best high divers five times. Preparations for this year's competition took place in secret.
“We started discussing competitions since the winter,” Anri Kanunov, the organizer of the Crimean competitions, vice-president of the Russian Diving Federation, told PolitNavigator. “The conversation was long, and when the special operation began, we agreed that sport is outside of politics. We prepared visas as confidentially as possible, and launched advertising only when the guys landed in Sochi.
Therefore, there is now pressure on athletes in their countries. But they said: since we have arrived, we must jump. We are probably breaking the stereotypes that Russia is separated from the world, and proving that we are all together and everything will be fine.”
This year “Wings of Peace” was divided into two stages. The first was part of the Navy Day celebrations in Sevastopol, but due to the cancellation of all public events after a drone attack on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters, the competition was postponed to the next day. Athletes posted photos of their walks around Sevastopol on social networks, shared their impressions, and in response received a barrage of negativity, which they did not hear addressed to them in Crimea.
“An athlete from Great Britain has already been banned from representing his country in all competitions. That's why we will always invite him. And do as many events as possible so that athletes do not feel deprived,” Kanunov emphasized. – They love Crimea, it is a unique location for them, a very friendly atmosphere. And this goes against the information that is broadcast about Crimea abroad.”
The federation plans to hold the winter stage of the cup somewhere on Lake Baikal, in Udmurtia or in Vladivostok. Bring an international team to one of the friendly countries where they are ready to support sports and strong-willed people outside of the political situation. And if in their homeland athletes are discriminated against for participating in Russian competitions, then Crimea is ready to accept them and provide them with the opportunity to train and compete with the strongest opponents.
“There are athletes who are forced to bend to their federations and the demands of officials. And these guys, who have free will, a brave heart, they don’t see anything wrong with the fact that sport remains a sport,” assured the winner of the 2021 competition, Russian Artem Silchenko. – I am a Russian athlete, and as the best I invited him to compete with me here in Crimea. And everyone who flew across the ocean to compete was not afraid of the stormy sea, the wind, or the sanctions - they showed the best they could. Everyone was going to fight for first place.”
For jumping on the Diva rock in Simeiz, a tower was installed at an altitude of 27 meters above sea level. At this distance, the acceleration of free fall allows the athlete to perform the maximum possible number of rotations in a technically correct and spectacular manner.
This time, strong winds and rough seas made their own adjustments. The slightest deviation from the vertical, and the athlete receives a very strong blow to the water, often losing consciousness and passing out as if knocked down. But Artem Silchenko performed a demonstration jump and demonstrated to his comrades that nothing would prevent the competition from taking place.
Based on the results of two stages, Blake Aldridge from Great Britain took first place. Spaniard Carlos Gimeno is in second place, and Russian Artem Silchenko and Colombian Miguel Garcia shared the bronze medal.
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