The London leg of the FINA/NVC Diving World Series (25 – 27 April) will see Olympic and World Champions including David Boudia (USA), Chen Ruolin (CHN) and Wu Minxia (CHN) compete for pride in the Olympic pool.
Boudia stormed to an impressive victory at London 2012in the men’s 10m Platform after what was one of the closest finals in the Olympic diving programme.
"London holds a special place in my heart."
- David Boudia
The American world silver medallist, who took the gold with his final dive two years ago, will return to the pool next month where he stood on top of the podium. At the FINA/NVC Diving World Series he will compete once again with Olympic bronze medallist Tom Daley, World 10m Synchro Champion Sascha Klein (GER) and Victor Minibaev (RUS).
Boudia will be looking to get back on to the podium in London with another consistent performance.
“I am really excited to be coming back to the UK and getting onto those boards in the Olympic pool again,” Boudia said. “I’m looking forward to how competitive the men’s 10m Platform will be, but I’ll also be in the 3m Synchro which should be a good change for me.
“London holds a special place in my heart. It is the place that I achieved the most prestigious title in Olympic sport, something I had dreamt of my whole life, and where I learnt the strength to put all other performances behind me.
“The crowds and the support that were at the Olympic pool were amazing and I hope that the same diving fans come and give support to everyone competing through the weekend.”
Ruolin is a four-time Olympic champion after proving to be a dominant force within the women’s Platform events. Her first Olympic gold came at her home Games in Beijing with victories in both individual and synchro events.
She became the first female Chinese diver to hold titles at the Olympics, World Cup and World Championships. In total she has won five World titles, with the most recent coming in Barcelona in the Platform synchro event.
Wu Minxia is the first female diver to win Olympic gold at three consecutive Games winning her first title in 2004 and will be a tough person to beat in the 3m Springboard event.
Sascha Klein and Patrick Hausding will be back in London after winning gold in the 10m Synchro at the World Championships in 2013 and will be aiming to continue their consistency ahead of the World Cup in Shanghai this summer.
Brits Matty Lee and Daniel Goodfellow will face up to the World Champions on the first day of competition and after winning two bronze medals in the opening legs will have increased confidence.
For the full list of international participants please visit http://www.fina.org/H2O/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4187&Itemid=1335
Thanks to a partnership between British Swimming, UK Sport, London and Partners, London Legacy Development Corporation and charitable social enterprise GLL, the event will make its debut in London.
UK Sport have confirmed an investment of up to £100,000 from its National Lottery backed Gold Event Series, which aims to bring up to 70 world class events to the UK by 2019, to support the hosting of the Diving World Series in London.