Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
After two rounds of high diving at the historic Porto Flavia mine, Britain’s Aidan Heslop leads the men’s field with 218.00 points. Heslop, the 2024 world champion, increased his degree of difficulty since the World Cup opener and holds a 23.00-point lead over 2023 world champion Constantin Popovici of Romania, and a 26.20-point lead over current world champion James Lichtenstein of the US. Notably, two-time world champion Gary Hunt is in sixth place at age 42. The men’s competition features close races among the past three world champions occupying the top three spots after round two, which had no degree of difficulty cap.
For the women, Australia’s Xantheia Pennisi leads by 2.05 points over Kaylea Arnett of the US and by 6.15 points over Simone Leathead of Canada, 2025 World Championships silver medallist. Pennisi’s second dive, a double-twisting back triple, earned 96.75 points—the highest score so far. Molly Carlson of Canada is fifth, behind American Lisa Faulkner, with an 18.75-point gap to the leader. Five-time world champion Rhiannan Iffland stands sixth, 21.50 points behind Pennisi.
On the conditions, Pennisi described the weather as “just perfect,” in contrast to last year’s wind. She emphasized focusing on one dive at a time and not overthinking her lead. Arnett described her approach as relaxed, aiming to stay calm and present for the final dives. Leathead emphasized consistency as her goal this season.