Aidan Heslop

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Aidan Heslop
Personal information
Born (2002-04-18) 18 April 2002 (age 19)
Chelmsford, England
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Sport
Country Great Britain,
 Wales
SportHigh diving, diving
Event(s)27 m,
10 m platform,
3 m springboard
Medal record
Diving
Representing  Great Britain
FINA Diving Grand Prix
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Madrid 10 m platform
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Madrid 10 m platform

Aidan Heslop (born 18 April 2002) is a British diver who competes internationally representing Wales and Great Britain. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games he competed representing Wales, finishing 6th in the 10 metre platform and 12th in the 3 metre springboard. In 2021, he won the gold medal in the 27 metre high dive at the Abu Dhabi Aquatics Festival representing Great Britain, performing the highest difficulty dive, a 6.2 degree of difficulty, in history.

Background[]

Heslop was born 18 April 2002 in Chelmsford, England.[1][2] He started competitive cliff diving when he was 12 years old.[2][3] He is eligible to compete representing Wales as his mother is from there.[3] For his pool training, Heslop trains in Plymouth.[4] Heslop has listed skateboarding and BMX racing as two of his alternate sports had he not chosen to pursue high diving.[5]

Career[]

2017[]

At the 2017 FINA Diving Grand Prix stop in Madrid, Spain, Heslop won the bronze medal in the 10 metre platform with a score of 391.15 points.[6]

2018 Commonwealth Games[]

See also: Diving at the 2018 Commonwealth Games

When he was 15 years old, Heslop became the first diver to represent Wales at a Commonwealth Games in 20 years at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia in April, with the previous diver being Robert Morgan at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.[3][4] In the preliminary round of the 3 metre springboard on 12 April, Heslop qualified for the final ranking 11th with a score of 352.80.[7] For the final later in the day, he scored a 285.15 and placed 12th overall.[8] On 14 April, Heslop scored 385.10 points in the preliminary round of the 10 metre platform and advanced to the final ranked fifth.[9] In the final later the same day, Heslop placed sixth with a score of 395.95 points.[10]

2018 Grand Prix and World Series[]

Heslop won the bronze medal in the 10 metre platform event behind Xiaohu Tai and Bowen Huang, both of China at the 2018 FINA Diving Grand Prix stop in Madrid, Spain in July with a score of 390.60 points.[11] In September 2018, Heslop became the youngest diver to compete in a Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series when he was 16 years old and competed at the World Series stop in Polignano a Mare, Italy.[12]

2019 Cliff Diving World Series[]

At the 2019 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series stop in Bilbao, Spain in September, Heslop became the youngest diver to win a medal of any kind at a Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, winning the bronze medal with a score of 384.60 points.[13]

2020–2021[]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, and before returning to competitions, Heslop's training pool was closed for a few months due to the pandemic, and for repairs, and he underwent wrist surgery.[14] As part of the 2021 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series stop in County Mayo, Ireland, Heslop earned two 10 scores from judges for his final round dive.[15]

Abu Dhabi Aquatics Festival[]

Heslop won the gold medal in the 27 metre high dive event with a score of 436.90 points at the FINA High Diving Qualifier held as part of the Abu Dhabi Aquatics Festival in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in December, earning first-place less than five points ahead of silver medalist Catalin-Petru Preda and bronze medalist Constantin Popovici, both of Romania.[16][17] His final dive was a 6.2 degree of difficulty, which was the highest difficulty dive executed in history and earned him a qualification for the 2022 World Aquatics Championships.[18][19] The gold medal was the first of his high diving career and confirmed Heslop as a permanent diver for the 2022 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, which was his first time receiving permanent diver status for a World Series.[20] His execution of the 6.2 difficulty dive earned him the number four top moment from the 2021 World Short Course Swimming Championships and the Abu Dhabi Aquatics Festival by FINA.[21]

2022[]

Training in early 2022, Heslop focused his efforts on the 2022 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, 2022 World Aquatics Championships, and representing Wales at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.[14][22]

International championships[]

Meet 3 metre springboard 10 metre platform 27 metre high dive
CG 2018 12th 6th N/A
ADAF 2021 N/A N/A 1st place, gold medalist(s)

Personal life[]

In December 2021, Heslop went skydiving over Jumeirah Beach in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.[5]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Aidan Heslop: Results". FINA. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Diving | Athlete Profile: Aidan Heslop". Gold Coast 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Law, James (27 July 2017). "Aidan Heslop: Cliff diving champion, 15, targets Commonwealth Games spot". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Meet 15-year-old Aidan Heslop, Wales' Commonwealth Games cliff diver". BBC Sport. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b Koos, Torin (3 February 2022). "What your favorite swimmers and divers have been up to this offseason". FINA. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  6. ^ "FINA Diving Grand Prix 2017 - Leg 4: Results Men 10m Platform". FINA. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  7. ^ Longines (12 April 2018). "Gold Coast 2018: Diving Men's 3m Springboard Preliminary Results". Gold Coast 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  8. ^ Longines (12 April 2018). "Gold Coast 2018: Diving Men's 3m Springboard Final Results". Gold Coast 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  9. ^ Longines (14 April 2018). "Gold Coast 2018: Diving Men's 10m Platform Preliminary Results". Gold Coast 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  10. ^ Longines (14 April 2018). "Gold Coast 2018: Diving Men's 10m Platform Final Results". Gold Coast 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  11. ^ "FINA Diving Grand Prix 2018 - Leg 4: Results Men 10m Platform". FINA. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  12. ^ Magill, Chris (11 September 2021). "The cliff diving prodigy is taking on the world's best in Ireland". Red Bull. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Aidan Heslop becomes youngest ever diver on the podium at a Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series event". Swim Wales. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Aidan Heslop wins first FINA high diving title to secure World Championships spot". BBC Sport. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  15. ^ Heaney, Steven (12 September 2021). "Multiple new records set at cliff diving World Series in Mayo". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  16. ^ FINA (18 December 2021). "FINA High Diving Qualifier 2021 Abu Dhabi (UAE): Men's High Dive Round 4 Detailed Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  17. ^ "Aidan Heslop claims title at Fina High Diving Qualifier in Abu Dhabi". Gulf News. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  18. ^ "Aidan Heslop claims title at the FINA High Diving Qualifier 2021 in Abu Dhabi". FINA. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  19. ^ "High Diver Heslop Strikes Gold For World Champs Qualification". British Swimming. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  20. ^ Magill, Chris (21 December 2021). "Confirmed: the cliff divers who made the cut for 2022". Red Bull. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  21. ^ Koos, Torin (23 December 2021). "Top 5 - The moments we'll remember from the 15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m)". FINA. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Heslop produces world's hardest dive to claim stunning victory in Abu Dhabi". Plymouth Sports Gazette. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2022.

External links[]

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