High diver Rhiannan Iffland extends her dominance with ‘insane’ fifth straight world title

SINGAPORE – Up on the 20m platform at Sentosa’s Palawan Green and with just one dive to go, Australian Rhiannan Iffland gestured to the crowd to hype them up before taking the plunge at the World Aquatics Championships on July 26.

Despite a 1½-hour delay to the final round due to inclement weather, the 33-year-old remained composed and cheerful before executing an inward triple with a half twist. Iffland’s 102.60-point dive gave her a total of 359.25, sealing her fifth consecutive world title.

Canada’s Simone Leathead won silver with a score of 314.50, improving significantly from her fourth place in 2023 and seventh position in 2024. The United States’ Maya Kelly completed the podium in third place with a score of 310.

After completing her dive, Iffland slapped the water in celebration, before emerging from the pool to congratulate her rivals.

The bubbly, high-energy athlete spectators and fellow athletes saw on the final day of the women’s competition was far from how she felt on the inside.

She said: “I had a moment this morning where one of my friends asked me how I was feeling, and I said, ‘Oh, I’m faking it.’ This is the fourth day, and it’s been a lot of diving. I was exhausted today. I do like to think that I do keep myself calm up there to some degree.

“But it’s kind of impossible to stay 100 per cent calm when you have those nerves, that adrenaline, and you have the pressure. It’s all of those things that you can never put at ease. But I have really worked a lot over the past years to try and calm myself down and get myself into that competitive mode.” 

Over three days of competition in Singapore, Iffland demonstrated her quality, heading into the final two rounds in the lead with 351.40 points, ahead of Canada’s Molly Carlson (322.80) and American Kaylea Arnett (322.25).

On July 26, she maintained that lead after executing the highest scoring dive in the competition with a back three somersaults two twists in the fifth round for 105.35 points, before rain delayed the sixth and final round.

When she returned to the diving tower, Iffland delivered another top performance that even she could not quite believe.

She said: “This one’s crazy. I’ve already achieved four in the past, and I was wondering about the possibility of winning a fifth.

“I came into this event knowing I could be fighting for it, but it wasn’t my main goal. It’s insane, I’m blown away, I’m kinda speechless right now. I never would have thought 10 years ago I would be holding my fifth medal.” 

Winning five consecutive gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships is a rare feat that only a handful of athletes have achieved. They include Chinese diver Guo Jingjing, who claimed the women’s 3m springboard gold in every edition from 2001 to 2009, while American swimmer Katie Ledecky won the 800m freestyle crown six times in a row from 2013 to 2023.

While Iffland makes it look easy, she insisted that it is far from the reality.

She said: “It’s a lot harder to stay at the top compared to chasing it. You have all the pressure on you, and I constantly feel it.

“I feel the pressure on myself to consistently perform well, time and time again. You put in so much effort in a dive that just lasts three seconds, and if it doesn’t go right, it’s a hard pill to swallow. I always try to look from the outside in on why I started this sport and keep grounded on why I love it.”

While the spotlight was on the veteran, the championships also saw the emergence of young talents like Kelly.

The 18-year-old, who was the youngest competitor in the field, was surprised to clinch a medal on her world championships debut. She said: “It’s my first year that I’m able to fully go off of the 20-metre platform. I’m in the senior age group, so I’m here with a lot of older and more experienced divers.

“It’s definitely been an experience being the youngest one here. Just learning from my fellow divers, it’s been a really cool experience.”