What happens when cliff divers hit the water at 85kph? (2024)

The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series returns for 2024 with some old favourites in the mix and new stops. The action starts in Athens, Greece, on May 26.

But what about the science of the dive? Maybe you thought being a RedBull Cliff Diver was as simple as jumping off a cliff? Think again. It's an exercise in mental mindset, bodily control, and, oh yeah – maths. Leaping from a 27m-high platform is quite literally a calculated risk.

Hear diver Orlando Duque and RedBull Cliff Diving World Series competition director Hassan Mouti thoughts on the sport in the podcast below:

We've seen the mid-air flips and twists countless times. Today – with some incredible underwater shots from ocean photographer Alex Voyer – it's time to take a look at the landing and soak up the following facts faster than a cliff diver's sleek swimwear in a fizzing maelstrom.

The divers accelerate off the platform at 9.8mps – that's almost as fast as a Bugatti Veyron supercar accelerates from 0–60mph or to 100kph. Did we mention they're flipping and twisting, while spotting their landing? Because they are. James Lichtenstein manages five forward rotations.

"We are only in the air for three seconds," says US diver David Colturi. "It's a long three seconds, and you really do feel like you're flying through the air; you're doing flips and twists, you're mastering gravity all the way down to the water."

The impact isn't easy. The divers go from 85kph to a lot less fast than that in less than a second. Despite impact being anything but pain-free, from the divers’ perspective, it’s completely worth it.

"I think there is a moment where you get that nice feeling that's like floating," says sports director Orlando Duque, "and then after that it goes down really fast. Then you open, you finish your dive and then you see the water, you can feel the wind a little bit in your face and you can hear it even. It's such a nice feeling."

This is one time it's OK to flex. By tensing muscles before impact, the divers protect themselves from injury (although injuries can still occur).

Anything that's not straight up and down is really going to hurt

Orlando Duque

The divers hit the water so fast that they actually create a 'bombhole' where they entered, as beautifully illustrated in the photo above.

As the divers enter the water, friction slows them down incredibly fast. The water jetstreams around the leading edge of the diver's feet or hands. The shot above is a moment after impact.

As soon as the diver enters the water, friction hits the brakes for them, but they also spread their arms towards the end of the dive to decrease the depth they'd otherwise sink to.

The height and speed of cliff diving and the pure forces inflicted on the divers’ bodies on entering the water means that they have no choice but to sign off the dive by entering the water feet-first, unlike in Olympic diving where they typically enter the water head-first.

It's not a swimming pool on a Tuesday morning with one other person doing lengths at the opposite end. This is a dive off real cliffs into the Atlantic or next to a raging waterfall. What happens if they mess up on the landing? "Anything that's not straight up and down is really going to hurt," says Duque. And what if they do a 'belly flop'? Thankfully, that doesn't happen…