Stratford retains her national title during day three of National Age Groups

Sadie Stratford of Southend Diving successfully defended her national title on the morning of day three at the GoCardless Diving National Age Group Championships 2024.

After an impressive outing at the championships in 2023, Stratford took to the boards again this year as she looked to retain her crown in the Female Group B 3m event.

Surpassing her personal best from last year, Stratford achieved an overall score of 257.80 giving her a 12.15 lead ahead of teammate, Erin O’Neill, who earned the silver medal.

The victory marked a first gold for the Southend diver in Sandwell and a fourth medal overall after a hat-trick of silver medals so far.

Fellow teammate, Lois Fell-Cowen, took bronze to complete Southend Diving’s podium sweep, furthering the team’s success at this year’s championships.

Fookes flying high

In the Female Group A 1m event, Tegan Fookes of Star Diving Club stormed to victory, winning gold with a lead of almost 13 points.

Her score of 274.15 saw her step onto the podium for the first time at this competition.

The result was closer for the rest of the field, with City of Sheffield’s Chloe Strutt beating Scarlett Hallam of Dacorum to silver by just three points.

Heath hits top form

The Open Group B Platform event saw Cambridge Dive Team dominate the podiums with silver and bronze medal positions going to teammates Rufus Bord and Charles Tibbatts.

Bord collected his second medal of the competition, following his gold medal victory in the Open Group B 3m event yesterday, whilst Tibbatts stepped onto the podium for the first time this weekend.

Gold was won by Will Heath of Plymouth Diving Club, who scored a total of 215.60 – five points clear of second place. This is a notable improvement for Heath, who placed fifth at the championships last year.

Guest diver, Ben Morrice from Aberdeen Diving Club, received a commemorative gold medal for his efforts in the event.

Morskyj leads the way

In the Female Group C 3m event, Alice Morskyj from Dive London Aquatics Club took home the gold medal with a score of 191.40.

This is a huge personal best from the 3m Springboard for the London diver and secured her a 15-point lead ahead of silver medal winner, Sophia Harris, from Star Diving Club.

City of Sheffield’s Chloe McCurdy added a bronze medal to the Yorkshire club’s collection.

Guest club, Aberdeen, enjoyed more success as they claimed second and fourth place finishes. Olivia Leslie won a commemorative silver medal and Darcy Napier-Rey just missed out on the medal spots in fourth.

Story written by Clementine Butler Brown

Pictures: Will Johnston Photography