Cookson completes golden double as Star Diving Club impress on day three

Star Diving Club took centre stage during the afternoon session of day three at the GoCardless Swim England Diving National Age Group Championships 2024.

The club clinched three golds overall throughout the afternoon – one of which was shared with Dive London after Alex Cookson and Max Goodwin teamed up in the Open Group A/B 3m Synchro event.

That synchro result meant that Cookson doubled his gold medal tally for the day after also winning an individual medal in the Open Group A 3m event.

The Star Diving Club athlete improved from his bronze medal finish in 2023 to attain the 2024 championship title.

He achieved a score of 287.55 on his way to victory and finishing closely behind Cookson, narrowly missing out on the title by less than one point, was City of Leeds’ Fred Crossley in second.

Dive London’s Goodwin also obtained the bronze medal in this event before going on to team up with Cookson – an impressive achievement for the youngster on his National Age Group Championships debut.

A notable mention should also be given to guest diver Matthew Marshall from Edinburgh Diving Club who scored an impressive 325 points. He received a commemorative gold medal.

Goodwin and Cookson get the gold

Following their individual medal success, Cookson and Goodwin added to their tally with their performance in the Open Group A/B 3m Synchro

The pair scored 209.28 as they claimed the national title.

Another duo building on their individual successes was Cambridge teammates Charles Tibbatts and Rufus Bord.

Teaming up to continue their good form, Tibbatts and Bord were awarded the silver medal following a score of 189.84.

Plymouth’s Louie McCue and Lincoln Stephens secured the bronze medal position for their club with an overall score of 185.94.

Lily lays down a marker

Star Diving Club’s third gold came in the Female Group D Platform event, as Lily Houzego added to both her club’s and her personal medal collection.

The win marked Houzego’s second medal of the competition, following her silver medal in the Female Group D 1m event.

Whilst she shared that silver with City of Sheffield’s Ayla Jackson, her win on the Platform was comfortable, with a score of 163.55 being more than eight points ahead of Eimear Satherley in second place.

Representing City of Sheffield, Satherley’s silver medal represents an improvement from her sixth-place finish in the 1m.

Flo Hall of City of Leeds finished in the bronze medal position with a strong score of 152.95.

Whyte wins national crown

Hakim Whyte of City of Leeds and Seb Surry from Southend have been battling it out for gold in the Open Group C category at this competition.

Whilst Surry triumphed in the 3m event on day two, it was Whyte who clinched the gold in the Open Group C 1m event in the afternoon session of day three.

Scoring 210.60 overall, the City of Leeds diver claimed a 10-point lead over the 3m champion. Surry just surpassed the 200-mark, with an overall score of 200.60 to claim silver.

Joining Whyte on the podium was his City of Leeds teammate, Lucas Bishop, who won bronze as he also added to his collection of championship medals.

The diver achieved bronze in the 3m event yesterday having already claimed gold in the Platform event on Thursday.

Christian doubles up on titles

City of Sheffield’s Alex Christian secured his second 2024 championship title this afternoon in the Open Group D Platform event.

Following his victory in the Open Group D 3m event on Thursday, Christian won his second gold medal of the competition with an overall score of 159.35.

Finishing in the silver position was Cai Tobin, winning the first medal of the competition for South West London Diving Club with a score of 151.70.

Southend’s Beau Barry was just marginally behind Tobin with a score of 151.55 to finish in third place. This comes after Barry narrowly missed out on a podium position in the 3m event where he finished fourth.

Guest diver Zachary Koshovyy, of Edinburgh Diving Club, was awarded a commemorative silver medal.

Story written by Clementine Butler Brown

Pictures: Will Johnston Photography