The 2024 diving season saw stories of firsts, records, and world and Olympic glory for many of Europe’s top female divers.
With 2025’s calendar providing a mixture of global and continental contests for those athletes looking to sharpen their skills as another Olympic cycle begins, here are some key events and developments to watch out for:
No Olympics this year, but plenty of chances for athletes to impress
Following the successes of European athletes at the Olympics in Paris last year, both European Aquatics and World Aquatics will feature several elite and development competitions to continue the upward trajectory of diving on the continent.
The main opportunities will come in the form of the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, which run from July 11 to August 3, and the European Diving Championships from May 25 to 31.
The 2024 World Championships provided a total of six medals for European countries across the women’s and mixed events, while the 2023 edition of the European competition saw five different countries take female or mixed titles across one of the highest-quality weeks of diving.
World Aquatics will also be hosting legs of its annual Diving World Cup (formerly FINA Diving World Series), with the first leg confirmed to be in Windsor, Canada, and the Super Final in Beijing, China. Their Diving Recognised Events calendar (formerly FINA Diving Grand Prix) has four dates throughout the year, which will undoubtedly see interest from European athletes.
Away from the elite major international competitions there are several other chances for athletes of varied abilities to make their mark in a competitive environment. Several European countries, such as Great Britain, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and more will be inviting athletes from across the continent and further afield to their competitions in preparation for the summer.
There are also chances for junior athletes to shine. As well as some of the above contests being open to up-and-coming athletes, the European Junior Diving Championships are taking place this year in Athens, from June 23 to 29, giving athletes a further opportunity to compete for medals in this popular competition.
Great Britain look to follow-on from 2024 success
Great Britain’s women flew the flag for the European nations for the most part in 2024. Britain was the only European nation to take Olympic medals in the women’s events through Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson, and Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen, who took bronze in the 10m and 3m synchro respectively.
These pairs also earned bronze at the World Championships, with Spendolini-Sirieix earning individual 10m bronze and compatriot Grace Reid taking 1m springboard silver.
As the British team looks ahead to 2025 it will undoubtedly be fielding a strong squad in Singapore and at the European Championships, as well as building on its promise in the junior categories in Athens and elsewhere.
Potential future stars to look out for throughout the year include Maisie Bond, who took two medals at the 2024 World Junior Diving Championships last month, and Hannah Newbrook – who took a bronze medal at the competition alongside Bond in the 10m synchro, and placed well individually herself.
Desharne Bent-Ashmeil was also successful in 2024, taking European golds in both the 3m springboard and 3m synchro, and will be looking to make the step up to the global stage in 2025.
That being said, you can still expect those global medallists from 2024 to continue their form into 2025, and potentially return to the podium a number of times throughout the summer.
Ukraine and Germany primed for 2025 breakthrough
Both Ukraine and Germany have had significant breakthroughs in recent years – taking multiple titles at junior level as well as podiums on the elite stage.
As 2025 begins to take shape there will be no doubt that both nations will continue their rise to the top table of world diving – not least through Germany’s Saskia Oettinghaus, who came within just over a dozen points of the podiums with an impressive Olympic 3m springboard performance from Paris, where she finished seventh, as well as her compatriot Jette Muller, who finished one place away from a world medal in Doha just under a year ago.
Other German athletes who look set to do battle with the best include Christina and Elena Wassen, and Lena Hentschel, all of whom had tastes of European and world finals – seemingly improving with every passing dive.
On the Ukranian side, Sofia Lyskun and Kseniia Bailo took European 10m synchro gold last summer, as well as placing well in the Olympic final, and will be looking to make inroads once again this summer. Lyskun also took individual silver – a feat she will be sure to want to improve on with two big major senior competitions this year.
Spain look to make it global following European success
Spain was the most successful diving team at the 2024 European Aquatics Championships in the women’s and mixed events – with four different athletes (including males in the mixed events) taking gold.
Despite this, Spanish athletes struggled to replicate these performances at world level. Could 2025 be the year they break through? The World Championships in Singapore will be their opportunity to do just that.
Leading the charge will be Spain’s Ana Carvajal. The 18-year-old took gold in the 10m platform at Belgrade’s European Championships and narrowly missed out on the final in Paris. She rounded off an impressive year by taking fourth place in the 10m platform at the World Junior Championships – narrowly missing out on a medal in one of the highest quality finals in recent memory.
With the athlete seemingly improving on her performances month on month, it would be no surprise if she turns up on the world stage and makes it to that prestigious top twelve.
Also taking centre stage for the Spanish team in 2025 will be Valeria Antolino. The 22-year-old took two gold medals at the European Championships, in the mixed 10m synchro and the team event, and also took a silver medal in the 10m synchro, alongside Carvajal.
It was individually where she had the most success on the global stage, though – making the Olympic final of the 3m springboard, finishing eighth, and taking fourth in the Super Final of the Diving World Cup (10m platform).
The pair, alongside significant pushes from the men’s diving cohort in the country, will be in and around those looking to make history in what will be another momentous year for women’s diving in 2025.
