What is Clif Diving?
Clif diving is a sport in which athletes jumping from high rocks into the water, performing at the same time, some acrobatic elements. Hence the name, the cliff (cliff), the dive (dive) - dive.
This sport is extremely beautiful and spectacular, so the number of its fans is growing every year. In this regard, I would like to talk about some of the points related to the cliff diving.
Few people know that during the jump, the athlete experiences the same overload, as the racer of Formula 1. In the same way as Bugatti Veron, in two and a half seconds it accelerates to 100 km / h and drops to zero for 3-4 meters. At the same time, divers are deprived of any protective equipment, and only garments from them are smelted.
Types of diving
Recently, cliff divers perform jumps not only from the rock, but also from the bridge, helicopter or wing of the aircraft. There are also jumps in water from special platforms that are called high-diving and are the forerunner of dive cliffs. The difference between these species is, although at first glance it seems not essential. The fact is that unlike hi-divers, cliff divers make jumps in natural conditions, so the risk increases significantly. Changing wind gusts can play a cruel joke with the athlete, and any mistake may be the last.
The safety of diving, involving jumps from height, both in hi and dive cliff, is relative, because there are no any adaptations and special equipment for these sports. That is why such species are considered extreme.
Rules for performing the jump
In cliff diving, the height for women is 20-23 meters, for men - 23-28.
Lovers perform a jump with their feet down, without any tricks.
More advanced brave souls make a leap upside down.
But professionals, jumping upside down, manage to make one or more acrobatic elements during the flight.
One of the most important moments of the jump is the input (the depth must be at least 5 meters). The matter is that the athlete's body experiences a heavy load, since the body part is already in the water with a significantly reduced speed, and the second one, which is outside the water, is still in the phase of dispersal. Muscles must provide the body with a direct position, and this is quite difficult. That's why athletes rarely do more than 10 jumps a day. Muscle fatigue is one of the worst enemies making jumping unsafe.Highscore Cliff Diving Records
A lot of athletes are trying to win, both official and conditional title, which will be an expression of the level of skill and will enable the athlete to gain recognition from connoisseurs of this extreme sport.
Who was able to surprise and leave a mark in the history of diving cliffs in due time?
In 1985, an American Lucky Wardle conquered a height of 36.8 meters, which is not in the hands of many male divers.
Swiss Federic Vail, when performing the jump from the 26-meter height, managed to make a double somersault and entered the water head.
The real champion in this sport , whose record could not beat - the Swiss Oliver File. His height, with which he made a jump - 53.9 meters.
Among Russian athletes in the world ranking, Russian athletes Artyom Silchenko and a simple children's doctor Sergei Zotin are firmly entrenched.
Psychological features of diving cliffs
Jumping from a height into a cliff diving requires maximum concentration and concentration, because the slightest mistake can become fatal.
In addition, doctors found that only one thought of a jump, when an athlete is on a platform, makes the heart work at the limit of its capabilities.
The complexity of this sport and its traumatic danger make the clif diving sport, in which the number of professionals hardly reaches 50 around the world. But despite this, the Federation of Cliffs of Diving annually conducts competitions in the most picturesque and exotic places on the planet.