Americans Kaylea Arnett and James Lichtenstein scored a historic double at the second stop of the 2026 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in St. Petersburg, Florida on Saturday.
Roared on by 50,000 fans on land and water, this was the first time in the sport’s 17-year history that two divers from the USA stood on top of the podium at the same event.
For Arnett – the only female diver not to pick up a single score below eight from the judges – consistency was key as she produced four polished dives across three days of competition to celebrate her first-ever win from the 21m platform. The 33-year-old needed to be at the top of her game to finally break Rhiannan Iffland’s seven-stop winning run, holding her nerve with the final dive to edge ahead of her Australian rival by a record-equalling 0.1pt. In doing so, she also became the first American woman to win since Cesilie Carlton back in 2017.
“This is such a magical experience. I was super happy to have everyone cheering behind my back and I could really feel the environment,” said Arnett, who was competing in her 11th World Series event.
“Going last is a totally different vibe and it sets the pressure up really high. I was super nervous and shaking climbing up the ladder, but you just have to put your brain on hold and trust yourself. This is the first time I’ve been able to do PB’s on all four of my dives and I’m feeling really confident right now.”
Despite cranking up the pressure on Arnett with 9.5s across the board for her final round dive – a typically stunning Inward 3 Somersaults ½ Twist Tuck – Iffland could only watch on as the lively American fed off the crowd’s energy and held her nerve at the sun-drenched St. Pete Pier. It was, however, the best dive of the weekend, earning the nine-time champion a bonus point in the overall standings – which she now leads by 12pts from Arnett.
“I couldn’t have done any more today. Kudos to Kaylea, she was incredible across four dives,” said Iffland, who for the first time since 2018 found a diver other than Canada’s Molly Carlson ahead of her on the podium.
Completing the women’s podium was another homegrown diver, Lisa Faulkner, who was also in top form in the final round, picking up 9s from the judges to propel herself into third place – her second such finish in just five appearances.
Having watched his compatriot remain unshakeable under immense pressure, all eyes turned to Lichtenstein as the action moved up to the 27m platform. Just like Arnett, the 31-year-old held the lead after three rounds, but had been set a stiff task by former champion and early championship pace-setter Aidan Heslop, of Great Britain, in the final round. Needing 7.5s to secure his third career victory, the laid-back Florida resident batted away any nerves to put down the best dive of the competition – a Back 5 Somersaults Tuck for 9s – as he ultimately powered to victory by a 26pt margin.
“It’s just an amazing feeling to defend on home turf,” said Lichtenstein, who maintained his winning record in the USA following victory at the 2025 season finale in Boston. “I couldn’t even hear the announcer with all the crowd’s cheering and energy, but I knew what I needed to do and I did it. My family and friends are all here, and I’ve made them proud and made myself proud.”
Having opened up the season with a third-place finish in Bali, the American gained some important ground on his British rival and now trails Heslop by just two points in the overall standings.
Behind the top two, it was a somewhat below par performance from much of the men’s field, with Romania’s Constantin Popovici gratefully securing the final place on the podium despite not being anywhere near his best form.
From the Florida coast, the world’s best cliff divers will next head back across the Atlantic to Copenhagen, Denmark in three weeks’ time, where they’ll take flight from the roof of the city’s iconic Opera House as the fight for the King Kahekili trophies heats up.
Re-watch what happened and peek behind the scenes in the “More than a dive” episode from St Pete here on Friday, June 12
Results Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series St. Petersburg
WOMEN
1- Kaylea Arnett USA – 361.45pts.
2- Rhiannan Iffland AUS – 361.35
3- Lisa Faulkner USA – 345.90
4- Simone Leathead CAN – 327.40
5- Molly Carlson CAN – 320.35
6- Xantheia Pennisi AUS – 313.60
7- Nelli Chukanivska UKR – 300.30
8- Morgane Herculano (W) SUI – 285.55
10- Maike Halbisch (W) GER – 251.60
11- Ginni van Katwijk NED – 249.90
12- Iris Schmidbauer (W) GER – 248.10
MEN
1- James Lichtenstein USA – 429.60pts.
2- Aidan Heslop (W) GBR – 403.20
3- Constantin Popovici ROU – 379.55
4- Oleksiy Prygorov UKR – 374.35
5- Catalin Preda (W) ROU – 374.25
6- Davide Baraldi (W) ITA – 361.85
7- Jonathan Paredes MEX – 359.45
8- Sergio Guzman (W) MEX – 352.95
9- Gary Hunt FRA – 346.75
10- Braden Rumpit (W) NZL – 282.05
11- Carlos Gimeno ESP – 186.20
12- Andrea Barnaba ITA – DNS
Standings (after 2 of 6 events)
WOMEN
1- Rhiannan Iffland AUS – 37pts.
2- Kaylea Arnett USA – 25
3- Molly Carlson CAN – 25
4- Lisa Faulkner USA – 20
5- Simone Leathead CAN – 20
MEN
1- Aidan Heslop (W) GBR – 36pts.
2- James Lichtenstein USA – 34
3- Jonathan Paredes MEX – 22
4- Catalin Preda (W) ROU – 18
5- Constantin Popovici ROU – 15
Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series
The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series is the premier global competition in the sport, featuring 24 elite athletes – 12 women and 12 men – who dive from heights of 21 and 27 metres at speeds exceeding 85 km/h. Now in its 17th season, the multi-day series visits iconic natural and urban locations worldwide. In 2026, it will stop in Indonesia, the USA, Denmark, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Italy and Oman between May and November. Since 2009, almost 120 athletes from more than 25 nationalities have competed for the prestigious King Kahekili Trophy, combining extreme sports with precision and global storytelling.
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