A spectacular performance of world-class cliff diving from 27 metres by Artem Silchenko saw the Russian claim no fewer than six 10s en route to the highest score ever in a World Series event, as the 2011 edition was wrapped up in style at Yalta.
Gary Hunt, the World Series champion, came second, while Michal Navratil confirmed third place in the Series by taking the final place on the podium. Ukrainian Sasha Kutsenko finished fourth, saving his best for last in his home event, and Cyrille Oumedjkane and Alain Kohl, fifth and sixth respectively, secured places in the overall top six and, with it, automatic qualification for 2012.
Watched by a crowd of 15,000, many of whom were cheering for Silchenko, the Russian was overjoyed at winning the final Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series event of 2011.
He said: "I’ve been second four times this year and now I’ve beaten Gary (Hunt) – it feels great! I’m so, so happy. I’m from the Soviet Union so it feels like I’m born in this country too. This is my best ever. I’ve shown my best dives. I got so many 10s – give me the dive sheet so I can count them all! This is my record."
Silchenko beat Hunt by more than 50 points after amassing a score of 518.30 following four rounds of competition. Last up on the platform at the Swallow's Nest castle, the 27-year-old, who was in the lead all the way through Sunday's competition, had to wait for Hunt to execute the triple quad before unleashing his own show-stopper, the back armstand two and a half, one and a half to seal the well-deserved win.
Super Silchenko puts seal on Series