Iris Schmidbauer is back in competition mode: The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Tour starts in France.
Participation this year is something very special for Pähler.
Pähl - Iris Schmidbauer is standing on a small platform at a dizzy height, she has stretched her arms in the air, with both hands she shows the victory sign.
Below her, sea water splashes on the rocky coast of the Cote d'Azur.
“It's great to be back,” the cliff diver from Pähl subtitled the selfie.
Yes, Schmidbauer is actually back in competition mode.
After the cancellation due to Corona last year, a worldwide series will take place again this year in "Red Bull Cliff Diving".
It starts on Saturday, June 12th, with jumping at Cap Dramont near the French coastal town of Saint-Raphaël (between Cannes and Saint-Tropez).
It is the first time that the global tour, which has existed since 2009, will stop there.
Cliff Diving: In 2020 the Red Bull series was canceled due to the corona pandemic
For Schmidbauer, the stop in France is not only the start of the season, but also the end of a journey halfway around the world.
The 26-year-old was most recently based in New Zealand.
What began as a vacation trip turned into a stay of more than a year because of the corona pandemic and the resulting travel restrictions.
However, at the end of May it was finally over.
Saying goodbye was not easy for Schmidbauer, even if she was looking forward to the new season.
She traveled to Europe from New Zealand and has been on the road practically continuously since then.
In Bolzano and Haiming (in "Area 47") she completed training units in order to be prepared for the performance in France.
Cliff Diving: Iris Schmidbauer is one of the top starters
This year, the German is one of the jumpers to whom the focus is particularly directed.
Schmidbauer is one of the fix starters in the series.
Only seven other athletes are set for all competitions.
The big favorite is the Australian Rhiannan Iffland.
She had a perfect season in 2019: She won all jumping in the “Red Bull Cliff Diving” series as well as the gold medal at the FINA World Swimming Championships in South Korea.
In the past few months, Iffland caused a sensation with two special jumps: In a salt mine in Romania, she undertook the first underground cliff jump (Romanian Constantin Popovici was one of them), in Australia she was the first to jump from a hot air balloon in a sporty manner Water.
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Looking forward to the season: Iris Schmidbauer is one of the fixed starters in the global “Red Bull Cliff Diving” series in 2021.
© Red Bull Content Pool
Schmidbauer is hoping for a different premiere this season: For the first time, the Pähler would like to be on the podium in a Red Bull competition.
She was already fourth twice.
2019 in Beirut was just 0.10 points short of third place.
Schmidbauer is not the only German in France: Anna Bader starts with a wildcard.
Bader (37) is the “grande dame” of cliff jumping in Germany and made the sport known in this country.
In 2013 she won the bronze medal at the FINA World Championships in Barcelona.
After a baby break in 2018, she is back in competitive sports.
This year the “Red Bull” series comprises a total of six stations. After the performance in France, it goes to Norway (Oslo, August 14th), Bosnia-Herzegovina (Mostar, August 28th), Ireland (Downpatrick Head, September 12th), Italy (Polignano a Mare, September 26th) and Azerbaijan (Baku, October 16). The women jump from platforms at a height of 21 meters, the men from 27 meters. In the air, the athletes perform turns and somersaults, which are judged by the judges. Due to the high speed when impacting on the water (up to 85 km / h), the athletes always dive with their feet first.
Seated participants:
Women:
Eleanor Smart (USA); Iris Schmidbauer (Germany); Jacqueline Valente (Brazil); Jessica Macaulay (Canada); Lysanne Richard (Canada); Maria Paula Quintero (Colombia); Rhiannan Iffland (Australia); Yana Nestsiarava (Belarus).
Men:
Alessandro De Rose (Italy); Andy Jones (USA); Constantin Popovici (Romania); David Colturi (USA); Gary Hunt (France); Jonathan Paredes (Mexico); Michal Navratil, (Czech Republic); Steven LoBue (USA).