Romania’s Constantin Popovici and the Netherlands’ Ginni van Katwijk received their trophies during the high diving medal ceremony on 8 August at the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026 for being voted European Aquatics’ best men’s and women’s high divers of 2025.
Popovici had sat among the frontrunners through the opening two rounds on Friday before eventually finishing outside the podium as Romanian teammate Catalin Preda produced the dive of the competition to snatch gold on the final round. Van Katwijk’s week ended in similar fashion, with the 41-year-old unable to break into a women’s podium topped by Ukraine’s 19-year-old Nelli Chukanivska, but that didn’t overshadow the occasion as they both looked overjoyed with their accolades to commemorate a special year for the two of them.
Popovici topped the 2025 public ballot with 35.06% of the vote, prevailing in a closely fought contest that underlined the depth of European men’s high diving. The highlight of his award-winning campaign came at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, where he emerged from a tight three-way battle to take bronze, closing with a huge score of 141.00 when it mattered most.
He backed that up with a runner-up finish at the High Diving World Cup stop in Porto Flavia and remained in title contention deep into the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, eventually finishing second overall behind Gary Hunt. Spain’s Carlos Gimeno, who placed second in the 2025 vote with 20.11%, also went close in Paris, briefly leading after round three before fading out of the medals himself.
Van Katwijk’s award recognised a 2025 season that made her Europe’s leading light on the global high diving stage. The Dutch diver finished sixth at the World Championships in Singapore, the best result of any European competitor, a campaign that carried her to the top of the continental vote.
Switzerland’s Morgane Herculano, runner-up in the same end-of-year voting, led the European charge at Porto Flavia last month with an eighth-place finish, and continued to push for a podium spot in Paris before eventually finishing fourth behind Chukanivska, Italy’s Elisa Cosetti and Germany’s Maike Elena Halbisch.
Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
