PLYMOUTH’S Aidan Heslop made a fairytale return from career-threatening back surgery to claim victory at the opening 2026 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in Nusa Penida, Bali, this weekend.
The 2024 champion put 18 months of injury and rehabilitation behind him to score his ninth career win in style.
Heslop, who also won the World Aquatics Championships in 2024, missed the whole of last season after undergoing back surgery in Germany to try and fix a herniated disc that had been causing nerve pain that shot through his leg and made even routine daily movements a struggle.
He was told at the time that there were no guarantee’s the surgery would work or that he would be able to high dive again.
But after a long rehabilitation process, the 24-year-old returned like he had never been away and stormed to victory in Bali by 40 points.
After edging into the lead with his third dive from the 27m platform, Heslop rubber-stamped his title credentials with a mammoth fourth round dive – a forward four somersaults, three-and-a-half twist pike with 5.9 degree of difficulty – which earned him 141.60 points.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Heslop afterwards.
“And I can say it’s probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, to spend time away from one of the hardest sports in the world, but it feels amazing.”
“I did that last dive and just felt joy, relief – everything at one time.
“I even had a little tear on the jet-ski, because this moment means so much to me.
“Nerves were high the whole week, especially on that last big dive, but I can’t even put into words how happy I am to be back.”
On a day when Heslop’s leading rivals failed to fire, including France’s reigning champion Gary Hunt (sixth) and Romanian Constantin Popovici (11th) it was Mexican veteran Jonathan Paredes who took home second place with a display of precision and near-perfection in the Indian Ocean, albeit at a lower DD than many in the field.
American James Lichtenstein, who battled Heslop all the way in a thrilling title fight two years ago, completed the men’s podium to send out a signal that he might well be a contender once again during this six-stop season.
The series now moves to a new location – St. Petersburg in Florida – for round two of the series on June 5-6.