Medals galore for Cambridge Diving Development Centre at Armada Cup

Amelia Aldridge won three medals for Cambridge Diving Development Centre at the 2022 Armada Cup in Plymouth.

The event was taking place for the first time in two years, and Cambridge took a squad of seven divers to the south-west for a competition that is used as qualifying for the National Age Group Championships.

Daisy Halls got things off to a flying start in the girls’ Group B event, winning her preliminary 1m springboard event and going on to secure gold in the final.

She narrowly missed out on a podium place in the platform event, finishing fifth, and she was seventh in the 3m springboard prelims, qualifying a spot at the nationals in all three disciplines.

In the girls’ Group C, Tobi Fayomi, Zia Gordon and Aldridge were in action for Cambridge.

Aldridge was fifth in the prelims of the 3m competition, and was third in the final to win bronze and qualify for the national finals.

Gordon increased her difficulty with some new skills for 15th, and Fayomi showcased multiple new dives to place 27th in the 3m.

In the platform event, Aldridge qualified in sixth place, and then rose four places to seal silver in the final. Gordon was 17th and Fayomi was 19th.

The final event was the 1m, and three points separated the top five, with Aldridge securing another silver and Gordon narrowly missing the podium in fourth. Fayomi was 10th in the prelims.

In the boys’ Group C 3m springboard, Rufus Bord took second in the prelims to qualify a place at the nationals, and went on to take the silver medal.

Charlie Tibbatts and Dominic Williams were 12th and 13th respectively in their first competition at national level.

Bord was fifth in the final of the 1m springboard, and Tibbatts was eighth – narrowly missing a place in the final – and Williams was 11th with all three achieving a qualifying score.

In the platform, Bord was seventh, Tibbatts was ninth and Williams was 12th.

Dan Murphy, Cambridge’s professional coach, said: “All our divers put in a really good performance, earning some well-deserved spots in finals and taking home medals for Cambridge.

“It’s great to have secured qualification for the upcoming nationals later in the year.”