14 Jul 2019

Lebanon: This weekend, 24 men and women leapt from Beirut's most renowned natural landmark: the Pigeon Rocks in Raouche, on the southern part of the city's corniche.

The divers are in Lebanon for the first round of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2019, and come from 18 different countries. They plunged at speeds of up to 85 kilometres per hour from heights of up to 27 metres, straight into the ocean below.

The athletes were zip-lined from the mainland to the diving location for the preliminary dives, and the finals take place today, Sunday July 14, from 5.30pm Lebanon time.

The competition was between 18 nationalities around the world, rising 21 to 27 meters from the rock, where the competition was very close and the win for British record holder Gary Hunt against American David Coltore who made great leaps.

In the women's case, Australian Rhiannan Iffland was the best and won first place.

This is the first time the diving series, which travels around the globe, is taking place in Lebanon. The famous limestone rocks grow 40 metres out of the sea, but the divers jumped from a maximum height of 27 metres.