Cliff Diving
With the defending World Series champion sidelined due to injury, the men's competition is now an open arena.
In a twist that has sent ripples through the cliff diving community, reigning Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series champion Aidan Heslop has announced his withdrawal from the season's opening event in El Nido, Philippines, due to a herniated disc in his lumbar spine.
This unexpected development leaves the men's competition wide open, setting the stage for an intense battle between seasoned veterans and ambitious newcomers.
“No one can guarantee how long this recovery process is going to take, but hopefully I can come back for the second stop of the Red Bull Cliff Diving season in Polignano a Mare,” Heslop stated.
Making a comeback will be a challenge – but definitely not impossible
The British diver remains cautiously optimistic about his 2025 season, but acknowledges that his absence from the diving platform at the first stop in El Nido could see him playing catch-up in the standings until the very end. “With a much shorter season than the last, and so many strong divers, making a comeback will be a challenge – but definitely not impossible,” he added.
At just 22, Heslop made history in 2024 by becoming the youngest male diver to clinch the King Kahekili trophy. His journey from a precocious 16-year-old rookie in 2018 to the sport's pinnacle has been nothing short of meteoric. Reflecting on his rise, Heslop once shared: "I want to dominate Red Bull Cliff Diving", and the World Aquatics Champion and King Kahekili Trophy winner hasn’t relented since.
Even in his first season, Heslop went all-in at his inaugural World Series event in Polignano, an experience he was just about able to hobble away from. “Another injury I’ve had to deal with in my career was a fractured tailbone. I had an awful landing at my first-ever event in Italy,” Heslop remembers. “The pain was pretty severe, but the adrenaline of a 16-year-old kid at his debut event was much stronger,” he conceded.
But even now with three full seasons and a winners’ trophy under his belt, the physical demands of an intensive schedule of cliff diving training and competitions have taken their toll. Heslop revealed that his injury, a herniated disc impinging on his sciatic nerve, has been a lingering issue since the Boston stop last season.
After revealing his news about withdrawing from the 2025 Red Bull Cliff Diving season opener in El Nido, the 22-year-old confessed: "I did the classic male thing of just trying to forget about it and pretend it didn't exist until Sydney [at the 2024 season finale], where it got too bad."
01
When high-impact sports push beyond the limits
In cliff diving, athletes are continuously subjected to massive forces on their bodies. Whether in competition or during pool training, when diving from heights up to 27m, the athletes will spend under three seconds in the air, rotating and travelling around 85kph before hitting the surface of the water at forces up to 10G – a feeling that’s been likened to hitting concrete.
So it’s not surprising to learn that athletes, particularly those in high-impact sports, are susceptible to a condition known as sciatica, due to the repetitive strain on their lower backs.
The sciatic nerve, the longest in the human body, runs from the lower back and down the legs. When the nerve is compressed, as in Heslop’s case of a herniated disc, it can cause sharp, burning pain, numbness and tingling sensations which can take weeks or even months to get better.
So far, Heslop's treatment has included medication and, more recently, the cortisone injection aimed at reducing inflammation.
“... It’s so bad now that I can’t even touch my toes, let alone high dive,” he recently wrote in an Instagram post. “Turns out I’m not as young as I used to be. I’m even writing this caption while sat in a waiting room for a cortisone injection.”
“Nevertheless, I’m doing everything in my power to fix this injury and come back fighting for the rest of the season. So don’t miss me too much,’ he signed off, with a flicker of confidence and assurance.
02
Recovery regimen
Red Bull Cliff Diving physiotherapist Angi Passenbrunner, who has been treating divers since 2013, stresses the importance of strength training as part of an athlete’s overall recovery and long-term strategy, and explains how last year’s relentless schedule may have played a part Heslop’s injury: “Strength training during an intense season is very important to be able to withstand these stresses. Athletes often build up a lot in the winter and then tend to miss out because of the short recovery periods between competition,” she explains. “However, it is even more important to keep up with strength training, no matter if it is only once a week.”
The busy schedule last season, and short recovery periods between stops offered limited capacity to put in optimal training and recovery time. “2024 was a busy year for competition – even outside of the World Series – and relying on diving skills with limited strength training may have been too much,” Passenbrunner considers. “The disc is always under pressure when high diving due to the impact on entry and the strong and fast movements from flexion to extension, for example from pike position to straight.”
“In a twisting dive, there is naturally one-sided movement. If you don't compensate for this with strength, you will eventually overload the disc,” she finishes.
03
Pushing through
Despite efforts to speed his recovery, the British diver’s exact return to competition remains uncertain. "I don't know how long I'm going to be out," Heslop acknowledged. "Hopefully, I can be back for Polignano; that's the plan at the minute anyway."
The shortened four-stop 2025 season only magnifies the impact of Heslop’s absence. With every event carrying extra weight, missing even one competition could all but erase his chances of defending the title.
Honestly, an injury like this can be very disheartening at times
“Honestly, an injury like this can be very disheartening at times. I’ve definitely had my ups and downs throughout this offseason. Motivation can be tough to come by, but being surrounded by such a great and supportive team is helping push me through this difficult time,” he explained.
After closing out last season at an all-time high, Heslop had set his sights on a dominant streak, following in the footsteps of his idol, 10-time World Series champion Gary Hunt (who recently returned to the World Series after a season-long hiatus, having pursued an all-consuming side mission to the Paris Games).
But if there’s one thing both athletes have in spades, it’s most definitely resilience – the kind that fuels champions. Heslop’s 2025 plans may have been scuppered before the season even got started, but it appears, even with an enforced recovery period and rehabilitation training, there’s still plenty of career time remaining for the 22-year-old to pursue his dream of Hunt’s GOAT-level success.
04
Mixing it up
And so with Heslop’s season hanging in the balance, only one thing’s for sure – the absence of a super-strong contender and the defending World Series champion promises a season of unpredictability and heightened competition.
The remaining title contenders will be lining up for victory and assert their dominance with established figures like former King Kahekili title holder Constantin Popovici (ROU) and serial podium finisher James Lichtenstein (USA) ready to take on the challenge.
Spaniard Carlos Gimeno and Ukrainian powerhouse Oleksiy Prygorov have both proven their winning form, but will be aiming to maintain that consistency over a full season. Mexico’s Sergio Guzman also returns to permanent status in 2025, eight years after first joining the roster – proving that it’s never too late to stage a comeback.
Meanwhile, rising stars like Andrea Barnaba of Italy and Mexican Yolotl Martinez will view this as a golden opportunity to make their mark. The young divers may only have a handful of starts to their name, but their performances in 2024 took the entire World Series by surprise.
A third-place finish for the 20-year-old Italian, securing a permanent spot in the standings despite competing in only half the events, along with a strong fourth-place debut for 22-year-old Martinez and a podium finish in just his fifth appearance, signals a bright future ahead for the new generation of cliff divers
Heslop's journey serves as a poignant reminder of the physical resilience and mental courage demanded in cliff diving. As the season unfolds, fans and fellow competitors alike will keenly await updates on his recovery, hopeful for his return to the platform and the continuation of his outstanding career.