Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2012 - Wadi Shab, Oman

With his victory at the US leg of the World Series, reigning champion Gary Hunt is more than ready to perform in front of his home crowd at the sixth stop on the 2012 calendar. The 14-strong field of the world’s best cliff divers will exclusively focus on their performances off the 27m platform into the 15°C fresh Celtic Sea at the ‘Blue Lagoon’, the innocently and idyllically looking location for the UK debut. © Red Bull Media House

Pasta, pizza, mama mia, espresso - next stop Malcesine, Italy! The divers and the Italian way of life. Last season’s competition in Italy saw Artem Silchenko on the top podium and Series’ dominator Gary Hunt crashed after he world premiered his running take off and still misses an Italian victory in his collection. Maybe the new location at Lake Garda will fill this gap… © Red Bull Media House

After an amazing challenge in Cuba, the World Series travels to the USA Lone Star State, Texas. At Kingdom Possum Lake, two towering cliffs mark the entrance to a small cove. This is Hell's Gate, a sheer break in the cliffs around the lake, which rises more than 30 metres out of the lake. Given the flatness of the surrounding terrain, the cliffs are a visual feast. 14 world-class high divers, eight brave women and two towering cliffs in the heart of Texas provide the perfect mix for a succe...

It's not been a glorious summer for England, but the country do at least have one sporting hero: Gary Hunt made it back-to-back wins in Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series competition with another sensational victory on Ireland's Inis Mór on Sunday afternoon.

Fear is a major part in cliff diving. And safety is always the priority. Does a cliff diver need the feeling of fear to dive safely? What is it exactly, that scares them - the height, the risk of injury? How do scuba divers, a stable platform and the experience of overcoming your fears influence the diving performance? Is fear, in the end, something positive? © Red Bull Media House

The World Series has seen three champions to date and all three champions finished on the podium at the fourth stop of the year. Veteran Orlando Duque took his first top-three finish of the season, reigning champion Artem Silchenko was in second for the second time and Englishman Hunt made it three consecutive wins. In the second women's competition of the season, Rachelle Simpson repeated her success in Texas to take victory again. © Red Bull Media House

What are the Basics of Cliff Diving? It’s pure, it’s fast and it takes your breath away. Cliff divers leap aesthetically from almost three times the Olympic height and hit the water at speeds of 85kph, protected only by their concentration, skill and physical control. © Red Bull Media House

Blake Aldridge takes debut win at 2014 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series kick-off in Cuba. With his first victory in a World Series competition, the former Olympic diver has reached his highest goal yet. After his only podium finish in La Rochelle last year, Blake Aldridge made it to the top position in front of 60,000 enthusiastic Cuban spectators along the famous Malecón on a hot Saturday afternoon. It was a tight fight between the top six athletes in this season’s first 27m battle off Mo...