Cliff diving champion Rhiannan Iffland: 'It can feel like a car crash if you get it wrong'
Rhiannan Iffland of Australia dives from the 21-metre platform in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Imagine being perched on a platform 70 feet in the air, the Atlantic breeze blowing hard as you stare down over jagged rocks at the raging ocean below. Now imagine jumping upwards off that platform, twisting and somersaulting several times as your body starts to accelerate on your four-second journey through the air. You’ll hit the water at somewhere between 75 and 80 kilometres an hour, and one mis-timed tuck, one stray limb, could spell disaster.
“The impact can be quite strong, it can feel like a car crash if you get it wrong,” says Rhiannan Iffland, the 29-year-old Australian who is the most successful female cliff diver in history.
Iffland is the four-time champion of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, which this Sunday stops off at Downpatrick Head in Mayo, with 24 of the world’s best – 12 men, 12 women – ready to show their skill, class, and mind-boggling levels of courage.
For those of us used to more risk-averse sports, it’s a stunning spectator sport. Both casual and competitive divers typically take some time to build up to tackling the 10-metre platform – the highest in Olympic diving – but cliff divers are a slightly different breed.
Iffland grew up in Newcastle, New South Wales, and was a talented trampolinist in her youth, taking up diving at the age of 10. For the next five years she juggled both sports before focusing on diving, competing in the three-metre and 10-metre events until 2009.
“It got a bit repetitive so I wanted to spice it up and reignite my passion,” she says, and with that she took a job in the entertainment industry, working as a performing diver on cruise ships that toured the Caribbean and Mediterranean. “Not a bad lifestyle, especially when your job is something you love,” she says.
In 2015 she was granted a wildcard entry for the following year’s Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series and her journey to the 20-plus-metre platforms took some time.
“It’s very intimidating,” she says. “I don’t think it feels any different today than the first time, with that uncertainty. The skills are completely different and it takes a lot more self-trust and mental capacity. It’s a big step up.”
Her preparation ensures the clear and present danger is kept to a minimum. “We do the training to mitigate any risks. I went from 12 to 14 metres, 16, 18, and then 20. I took my time to get up there which is what most divers do.”
The pandemic kept her from her beloved activity for much of last year but Iffland has been the dominant force once again during this year’s series, comfortably out in front on 400 points with Canada’s Jessica MacAuley her closest pursuer on 260.
Iffland has twice competed in Ireland before on the series’ previous stops at Inis Mór and Dún Laoighre and she has fond memories of her time here.
“It’s a lot chillier and the weather conditions are a lot different but the thing I love about competing in Ireland is the people and atmosphere,” she says. “They love what we do and support us hail, rain or shine.”
While attendance on the day is limited to 200 fans due to current restrictions, the event can be watched live on Sunday from 3pm on TG4 and Red Bull TV.
“Don’t miss it,” says Iffland. “It’s a spectacular show, a really unique sport, and most people, after the event, are really blown away by what we do.”
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