The best of the best in world international diving will be in action this weekend in the FINA/NVC Diving World Series.
The second round of the series takes place in Dubai at Hamdan Sports Complex from today (Thursday) until Saturday, March 19, featuring 68 competitors from 12 countries.
Spectators can witness a number of Olympic champions prepare for the Rio Olympics in this lead-up event, highlighted by names such as Tom Daley, David Boudia and Roseline Filion.
The Dubai leg follows Beijing, which was the first stop of the series last weekend, and welcomes the athletes back to the beautiful venue of Hamdan Sports Complex.
Cornel Marculescu, FINA executive director, said: “We are very happy to be back in Dubai at one of the best venues in the world. I want to thank the rulers of Dubai, UAE Swimming Federation and the Dubai Sports Council for their support for this event.”
Khuwaiter Aldaheri, assistant general secretary of the UAE Swimming Federation, added: “This is the fifth time we are holding this event in Dubai and we have seen enormous growth and interest in diving since the first World Series Event which was held here in 2012.
The favourites: The Chinese
divers are expected to
dominate the event.
“Aquatic sport is growing here in the UAE and we are proud to play a part in motivating aspiring divers and we are committed to developing the sport in Dubai.”
Olympic bronze medallist Daley of Great Britain will be one to watch as he attempts to get his form right before the Games in August.
The 21-year-old captured fourth place in the men’s 10 metre platform event in Beijing to barely miss out on a podium finish.
After being viewed as the face of Britain’s campaign heading into the 2012 London Olympics, Daley feels he’s in a better place this time around as he enters the Games.
“Going into the London 2012 Games I will probably never ever feel the amount of pressure at any moment in my life than I did standing at the 10 metre board with 18,000 people watching and millions watching at home expecting me to pop into the water and come away with a medal,” Daley said.
“So going into this year, it’s completely different, it’s four years on, a lot more experience. I am excited about the Olympics this year, there are a lot of competitions before that and the World Series every year gets better and better and the standard gets higher and higher.”
China’s athletes will once again be the ones to beat after sweeping the gold medals on their home soil in the first round and will look to keep their stranglehold on the top positions.
After Dubai, the World Series heads to Windsor, Canada for the third leg from April 15-17 before making its fourth and final stop in Kazan, Russia from April 22-24.
Two sessions will take place on each day from 10:00 to noon and from 17:00 to 20:00.
Tickets to watch the world-class diving will be available at the door for Dh50 per day. Entry is free for children under the age of 12.
For more information on the event and the World Series, visit www.fina.org.
