Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series | June 2013 Feature on Colturi & LoBue
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue diving alumni Steven LoBue and David Colturi both finished among the top five in the overall standings of this year's Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series to lock up berths on next year's tour.
Highlighted by a victory at stop five July 26 on the archipelagos off the coast of Portugal, LoBue (2004-07) finished third this season with an overall score of 680. He was also the runner-up at stop two, June 29 in Ireland.
Colturi (2008-10) placed third at the tour's final stop on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula this past weekend (Oct. 18) to clinch fifth place in the overall standings with 610 points. Only the top five in the final standings receive automatic berths on next year's Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. Colturi moved up from seventh place entering the weekend to fifth in the final standings. He also finished fourth at stop six in Spain last month.
The 2014 tour was the third for both LoBue and Colutri. They are the American representatives that compete most frequently. They also finished third and fifth, respectively, in 2012 after debuting in part-time roles in 2011.
After his third-place finish in Mexico, Colturi expressed his excitement to RedBullCliffDiving.com. "I'm on top of the world right now. I came here knowing that I had a chance, but that I had to dive very well and it all came together. I might have missed my last dive a little bit, but it was enough to get third place on the podium and fifth place overall so I'm ecstatic. I did some good dives today and was feeling really confident. I was in seventh coming into the competition so had quite a bit of ground to make up, but I knew I could do it. I've got some big things planned for the off-season so I can come in strong for 2015!"
Meanwhile, in an Oct. 17 Miami Herald feature on LoBue, he expressed how much he has enjoyed diving in front of the boisterous international crowds the last few years. "At a meet at an indoor pool, you can hear a pin drop," he said. "Outside, it's like a party. After years of being in a rigidly-judged sport, it's fun to show your creativity."
LoBue won bronze at the inaugural FINA High Diving World Cup, which was held in Russia in August.
The 2014 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series also includes stops in Cuba, Dallas-Fort Worth and Norway. They've also competed in France, Denmark, Italy and Thailand over the last few years. The Purdue alumni have both expressed that getting to experience new countries and cultures as part of the world series tour is one of the most rewarding parts of the monthly competitions over the course of the warm-weather months.
Divers typically compete from heights of 27-30 meters (88-98 feet) on the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. And unlike their days as traditional 10-meter platform divers, they enter the water feet first. However, flips and twists remain the key elements of earning the highest point values for dives. This year's tour also featured divers from England, Russia, Colombia, the Czech Republic and Poland as well as a full-time women's circuit for the first time.
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