Kent De Mond, a native of Potomac, Maryland (USA), has improved by leaps and bounds. After a “mon(d)strous” finish to the 2009 edition, the American started strongly in the second season of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in 2010. A third place in La Rochelle, France, kicked off the series of competitions and, by the end, the 29-year old had cut his 8th place overall in 2009 in half. Cliff diving expert Joey Zuber calls him a “consistent improver who at each competition just steps up a level. He looks much more clean, much more comfortable. I think his dives are almost too easy for him. I think if he added another twist for next year, he could become one of the very few divers to really challenge the favourites.”
Now in his eighth season of cliff diving – he started in the summer of 2004 in a show on Indiana Beach – De Mond decided to try and take this elite sport to a new level after a career in classic pool diving. The change from the 10-metre board to high diving wasn’t straightforward, and his debut wasn’t without its problems, but the North American’s persistent character helped him to overcome all obstacles. “Of course, just for me, I really like to push myself by doing new dives, but sometimes without that extra motivation of trying to get into the top three, the fear is too much and so it’s kind of hard to try those extra dives without some extra motivation, like making it into the final round or finishing on the podium.”
Flying is one of the sensations that most entices the 29-year-old every time he dives into the void and for him it is an endless quest. Finding new places to dive from in search of adventure is one of his favourite pursuits and it also acts as a kind of training. Though he usually practices in a swimming pool using a 10-metre board, the fact that he is regularly working in shows is both a way of keeping the habit of high diving and of being able to evolve his diving technique.
After an injury-disrupted season in 2011, the American, who finished third in his home event in Boston last August, will hope to requalify for the 2012 World Series when he heads down under to Australia.
