DIVING: Ben proves a cut above the rest

Luton Diving Club's Ben Cutmore won three gold medals and the Diver of the Meet trophy at the G-Star Championships in Leeds recently.
Luton Diving Club's Ben CutmoreLuton Diving Club's Ben Cutmore
Luton Diving Club's Ben Cutmore

The 12-year-old was competing in the Boys 12-13 years category against the country’s best young divers in the 1m and 3m springboard events as well as the platform competitions.

He showed consistency throughout his lists of dives over the weekend event finishing first in all of the preliminary and finals competitions, an extraordinary feat considering the calibre of opponents he was up against.

In the 1m event, Cutmore was pushed in the final by a diver from Southampton but held his nerve to win with a total of 133.65 points.

The 3m competition saw Ben perform a solid list of dives containing two and half somersaults in three different directions as Cutmore finished the final with a total of 165.85, nearly 30 points ahead of second place.

However, it was his performance in the platform event that really caught the eye of the judges, with a list of dives was again the hardest list being performed in this age category.

The preliminary competition went well with Cutmore establishing himself as the top diver going into the final.

There, he opened up his scoring with a good inward two and half somersaults tucked which earned 56.7 points from the judges.

Disaster struck in round two and with Ben over rotating and scoring just 27 points from the judges.

However, he then unleashed a back two and half somersaults, earning the gold with a total of 157.05 points.

Ben’s performances over the weekend also earned him a couple of other awards as he was voted Dive of the Meet which is voted for by all attending coaches from the various clubs.

Further to this, Ben caught the eye of the GB team selectors and has been selected to represent GB in an international event in Dresden, Germany in April competing in the U15 age category in the platform event, a remarkable achievement considering Ben is still only 12.

Other noticeable performances by Luton divers include Hugo Thomas, who finished fifth in the Boys 10-11 years platform event, and Henry Biggs, who came sixth in the Men’s O16 1m springboard event.

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