Constantin Popovici, on the second place after the first phase of the preliminaries at the Singapore World Championships »had the most difficult jump in the contest

The jumping competition from the high height (27 meters) of the Singapore World Natation Championships debuted with the first day of the preliminaries.

The World Champion of 2023, Constantin Popovici36 years old, made two consistent jumps and finished in second place the first segment of the competition, gathering 215.50 points. His second jump had a degree of difficulty of 5.8 – the most difficult jump achieved on the inaugural day.

The other representative of Romania, Cătălin Preda34 years, world vice-champion in 2023 and bronze medalist last year, is still in the 7th position, with a total of 178.25 points.

On the top position is the Spanish Carlos Gimeno, 35, with 218.40. “I made two jumps and got notes of 9 and 9.5. I am satisfied with this result, but I do not want to get too excited. It is still on Friday – two more rounds – and then on Sunday, if I get to the end, two more rounds. Until now, everything is fine,” said Gimeno.

“I worked a lot for this competition in Singapore. I prepared very well. Everything, all the stages-my diet was correct, my training was correct, my mental training was correct. I hope to bear fruit,” he said.

Veteran Gary Hunt, 41, fourth

James Lichtenstein finished in third place, just 3.7 points behind Popovici, while the legend of Gary Hunt jumps, 41, settled on the fourth place, with 200.55. The Frenchman Hunt led after the first round (mandatory jumps), which can place him in a favorable position in the hope that he will reach the final.

“I feel very good. A new environment and a new format. We have three days of competition so you have to dose your effort but I am very pleased with my performance“Said Hunt quoted by World Aquatics.

The new format maintains the rhythm of the competition. The preliminaries are longer, taking place over two days, with two jumps performed each day. On Thursday, July 24, two rounds took place, and two more jumps are scheduled for Fridays.

After that, the first 14, both feminine and men will advance in the final, which will take place on July 26 and 27. The two notes of the mandatory jumps will be reported in the final (ie jump 1 and jump 3 in the preliminaries, both of which have a maximum degree of difficulty).

The finalists will perform two additional jumps (with unlimited degree of difficulty). The winner will be decided by the highest combined score obtained in these four developments. Summarizing, four of the six jumps will count for medals: the two compulsory preliminaries plus the two options in the final.