Russian makes a splash at cliff diving champs

The wait is finally over for high-diver Artyom Silchenko. The Russian finished first in the fourth round of the Cliff Diving World Series in Polignano a Mare, Italy.

The 26-year-old sealed his first win ever with a magnificent final dive, pushing last year's World Champion Orlando Duque into second.

Englishman Gary Hunt began the weekend as the man to beat, but an over-ambitious final attempt proved too much for even his supreme talents and an untidy landing meant he finished third.

"Today I showed everybody maybe my best dives in this area. I love this area (of Italy), it is so beautiful. It is a legend for divers and now I am very, very happy," happy Silchenko said afterwards.

The win sees Silchenko narrow the gap on Hunt to ten points in the overall rankings, with Duque currently third overall.

The series now heads to Sisikon in Switzerland on August 28 for more twists and turns in round five.