Diving World Series medallists Rebecca Gallantree and Hannah Starling will go from partners to rivals as they return to the domestic stage for next month’s British Gas Diving Championships.
Having won 3m Synchro bronze at the UK leg of the FINA/NVC Diving World Series in London last month, the City of Leeds duo are two of the star names lining up at Ponds Forge, Sheffield from 6 – 8 June.
Double Olympian Gallantree won four consecutive British 3m Springboard titles from 2009 – 2013 and will be aiming to recapture her individual crown after claiming gold at the season-opening British Gas National Cup in January.
Starling secured her top international result with a seventh-place finish at last year’s World Championships in Barcelona and will look to make an impact at her first national domestic competition since 2012.
City of Edinburgh’s Grace Reid will return to defend her title, having already been named on the Scotland team for her second Commonwealth Games this year, while City of Leeds’ Alicia Blagg will be aiming to improve on her silver medal from the past three British Championships.
Blagg has opted not to defend her 1m Springboard title in Sheffield, leaving the door open for the likes of Reid, Starling and 2011 champion Rhea Gayle, while the women’s 10m Platform will see a new champion crowned in the absence of Tonia Couch and Sarah Barrow.
European bronze medallists Gallantree and Blagg will be the ones to beat in the 3m Synchro while the 10m Synchro will be a shoot out as Gallantree and Lois Toulson take on Plymouth’s Shanice Lobb and Robyn Birch.
Four-time British champion Oliver Dingley will be one of the most experienced starters in the men’s competitions.
The Southend diver will defend his 1m Springboard title and aim to go one better than his 3m Springboard silver from the past two British Championships.
City of Leeds’ James Denny finished fourth at the FINA Grand Prix in Canada this season and could prove Dingley’s closest competition while City of Sheffield’s Freddie Woodward has also impressed with his performances from the 3m on the FINA Grand Prix circuit this term.
Denny will also look to medal in the 10m Platform, having won bronze in 2012 and silver in Plymouth last year, while City of Leeds diver Matty Lee – who has won two 10m Synchro bronze medals in the FINA/NVC World Series this year – will be aiming to stop Denny on his first British Championships appearance.
The men’s 3m Synchro could prove an exciting contest as double Olympian Nick Robinson-Baker teams up with Woodward, the pair having finished fourth at two FINA Diving Grand Prixes this year.
National Cup champions James Heatly and Sam Thornton will be looking to claim their second domestic medal together while the pairs of Denny and Dingley, and City of Sheffield brothers Jack and Ross Haslam complete the line-up.