Frenchman Gary Hunt became vice-world champion in high-flying diving on Thursday at the Doha Swimming World Championships.
The competitors launched from a diving board located 27 m high and installed in the bay of the Old Port of the Qatari capital.
In the lead after the first three jumps, Hunt, 39, was overtaken by Briton Aidan Heslop during the last dive.
He won with 422.95 points ahead of Hunt (413.25 pts). Romanian Catalin Petru-Preda took the bronze medal (410.20 pts).
“I could have had a few more points, Aiden really pushed me. It would have had to be perfect,” said the Frenchman, considered one of the references in this spectacular discipline.
Hunt, who represented Great Britain until 2020, won the fifth world medal of his career at 27m, following his titles in 2015 and 2019 and his silver medals in 2013 and bronze last year.
“Since my last silver medal in 2013, this sport has changed a lot. There are a lot of new divers, there are almost ten divers who could have been champions today. And to be there again and to finish with a medal, it’s more than I expected.”
The discipline, which entered the program of the World Swimming Championships in 2013, is not yet included in the Olympic Games, but the Frenchman will still be present in Paris in the 10m synchronized diving event.
On Wednesday among the women, who jumped from a 20 m high diving board, the title went for the fourth time to the Australian Rhiannan Iffland, ahead of the Canadians Molly Carlson and Jessica Macaulay. Frenchwoman Madeleine Bayon took 14th place.
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