It won\u2019t get any more pure \u2013 cliff diving directly off the cliff face is the motto in Portugal. S\u00e3o Miguel is the third of nine stops for the men in 2016, the second for the women. The cliff diving elite returned to this phenomenal volcanic archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean to celebrate the World Series\u2019 most pure venue. The crater walls of an almost perfectly round islet in the Azores archipelago some 1,400km west of the Portuguese mainland were the natural playground for the cliff diving elite during the season\u2019s third stop. From spots called \u2018snakehead\u2019 and \u2018kitchen\u2019 the brave athletes dived directly off the cliff to hit the water at speeds of more than 85km\/h only three seconds later. Only the more difficult dives of round 3 and 4 were executed on the platform due to the high degree of difficulty. An integral part of this prestigious series of competitions, the islet offshore from S\u00e3o Miguel hosted the 14 male and 9 female athletes for the fifth consecutive time this weekend.<\/p>\n
It was Gary Hunt (GBR) who could defend his last year\u2019s victory at the Azores. Andy Jones (USA) claimed the second place and Jonathan Paredes (MEX) completed the podium. In the women\u2019s competition it was once again Rhiannan Iffland (AUS) who took first place in front of Lysanne Richard (CAN) in second and Ginger Huber (USA) in third.<\/p>\n