Top divers from all over the country descended on Southampton last week for one of the biggest meets of the UK diving calendar. The annual three-day Southampton Invitational meet, organised by Southampton Diving Academy and supported by Active Nation, attracted some 150 competitors from 13 clubs stretching from Edinburgh to Plymouth and brought to The Quays many of the country's leading divers. With diving in the region getting a further boost from Max Brick's gold medal performance alongside Tom Daley at the Commonwealth Games, this was a chance to see how Southampton's young divers might be lining up behind him. And how they performed! A series of great individual performance ensured that Southampton Diving Academy won the team trophy in the face of tough competition despite several local British team divers not competing due to international commitments.
Southampton Head Coach Lindsey Fraser commented "Our High Performance programme again showed its worth even though our very top divers were unable to compete. Some fantastic performances from across the age range show that we have a pool of very talented young divers. And at the same time, we're successfully involving a much wider group of youngsters in national level competitions."
Star of the show was 18 year old local diver Chris Farrow who won gold in all three of his events in the 16+ age group. While he was well ahead of the field on the 1m springboard, Chris was pushed hard on his other two boards, winning Platform and 3m by just a few points but putting in a very determined performance to stay ahead. His coach, Chris Gravestock said "I was very impressed with Chris's performance, seeing him execute some dives with greater technical difficulty that he's only just learned."
Lewis Coleman-Smith also was on outstanding form winning gold in the Boys 12/13 years Platform, silver on the 3m Springboard and bronze on the 1m Springboard.
Lewis Oakley took home two medals, winning gold ( 12/13 years 1m Springboard) and bronze (3m Springboard). In the younger 10/11 years age group, Max Cott led the field winning gold on 1m Springboard.
Another Southampton medallist amongst the boys was Scott Palmer, beaten into silver medal position in the Boys 12/13 years Platform) by a startling performance from up and coming Plymouth star Matthew Dixon. Alistair Khakoo took home two bronze medals (Boys 14/15 1m & 3m Springboards), just missing out on a medal in the Platform event, an impressive all round display when he was competing above his actual age group.
With some of Southampton's leading divers not competing, the Girls' finals saw fewer medals for local divers but there were strong performances from Mollie James who won silver in the 14/15 years Platform event, Portia Angove (bronze in the Girls 12/13 years Platform), and Jessica Barnes (bronze, Girls 16+ Platform).
With Southampton Diving Academy fielding a team of 40 divers, the depth of local talent able to compete at this level was clear with 31 finalists across the 24 events and medals in more than half.
With several of Southampton's British team divers not competing the home team was up against it in the team event. But excellent medalling-winning performances combined with a strong presence in the finals saw Southampton beat its nearest rival, Crystal Palace by a wide margin (342 points to 291) followed by Plymouth Diving on 213.
It's clear from this performance that Southampton is successfully keeping its place amongst the top ranked clubs in the UK.
Detailed results of Southampton finalists:
Girls: 12/13: Portia Angove (Platform 3rd, 3m 6th); 14/15: Mollie James (Platform 2nd) Sarah White (Platform 4th, 3m 5th,1m 6th ); 16+ Jessica Barnes (1m 5th, Platform 3rd); Lauren Grinstead (Platform 4th, 3m 4th), Fran Godfroy (Platform, 5th).
Boys: 10/11 Max Cott (1m 1st, 3m 5th, Platform 5th); Scott Palmer (Platform 2nd, 3m 4th); 12/13 Lewys Oakley (1m 1st, 3m 3rd, Platform 6th); Lewis Coleman-Smith (Platform 1st, 3m 2nd, 1m 3rd), William Rigelsford (3m 5th); 14/15 Alastair Khakoo (1m 3rd, 3m 3rd, Platform 4th); 16+ Chris Farrow (1m 1st, 3m 1st, Platform 1st), Stephen Lingard (1m 5th, Platform 6th).
Or Karin Brindley (Press & Publicity Officer) on 023 80779161 or email: karinb01@tiscali.co.uk
Max Cott
Mollie James
Scott Palmer
Chris Farrow
Chris Farrow
Alastair Khakoo
Jessica Barnes
Portia Angove
Lewis Coleman-Smith (2nd) and Lewys Oakley (3rd)