Artem Silchenko's winning dive from the 88 foot platform in the Polignano a Mare event of the 2010 Red Bull Cliff Diving world seriesJudging by these spectacular pictures, cliff diving looks utterly exhilarating.
Nevertheless, diving from a narrow board into the sea some 88 feet below is probably more fun to watch than to actually do.
It's no surprise then that over 40,000 spectators crowded the balconies, beaches and cliffs of Polignano a Mare, Italy, in what champion cliff diver Orlando Duque describes as 'a natural stadium' to watch the drama unfold.
The world's best exponent of this comparatively little known sport is an Englishman.
Despite failing to win this weekend Southampton’s Gary Hunt is still well ahead in the world championship, having barely dropped a point all season.
The winner for the latest event in the in the 2010 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series was Russian Artem Silchenko, runner-up in the two previous heats.
Southampton-born Gary Hunt leads the field in this year's championships. Britain's Hunt had been looking unassailable until he made a tiny error while executing his latest move, the two and a half twisting quad with a running take-off.
Silchenko's back arm-stand with two and a half somersaults and one and a half twists is considered by cliff diving fans to be riskily ambitious as Hunt's world-beating Triple Quad dive .
This weekend's win sees Silchenko, who was the runner-up in two previous rounds of the competition, narrow Hunt's series lead to 10 points. Orlando Duque, who was second on the day, is now third overall.
The extreme sport traces its roots back to 1770, when King Kahekili, the last king of Maui, reputedly leapt from Kaunolu, a 63-foot cliff and entered the water below without causing a splash.The in-form Silchenko has not ruled out catching Hunt, who, with another victory, would have been practically uncatchable in the race for this year's title.
'I think in this competition in Polignano I have shown my best dives,' said Silchenko.
Leap of faith: French diver Hassan Mouti summons up the courage for another extraordinary dive'It’s my first win in this Series and I hope I can win more. To beat Gary Hunt and Orlando Duque, who are legendary divers, is brilliant.'
'Today Gary tried a very difficult dive that isn’t possible, maybe for anyone apart from him.'
No running, ducking or petting: Artem Silchenko begins a dive that you definitely shouldn't try in your local lidosource: dailymail
