Orlando
Duque
Colombia
·
High Diving
Date of birth | 11 September 1974 |
|---|---|
Place of birth | Cali, Colombia |
Age | 51 |
Nationality | Colombia |
Career start | 2009 |
Disciplines | Cliff Diving |
Orlando Duque started out diving in swimming pools but quickly became tired of the regimented scene. Diving off cliffs seemed more of a challenge!
With an extraordinary natural talent, Orlando has won 13 world titles in total: nine Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series events, FINA High Diving World Champion (2013), FINA High Diving World Cup winner twice (2014 and 2015) and the first ever overall champion of Red Bull Cliff Diving.
The Duke has also been immortalised in the film 9 Dives, which includes the highest jump of his career to date: a 34m descent off a bridge in Italy.
On top of that, Orlando has made it into the Guinness Book of World Records on two occasions, one of them when he achieved a perfect 10 at the 2000 World Championships. When not leaping from the world’s gnarliest cliffs, Orlando lives in Hawaii.
He retired from the Red Bull Cliff Diving Word Series in 2019 after an emotional farewell performance at the season finale in Bilbao, Spain.