Brilliant Barry takes double gold on exciting opening day in Birmingham

Two events and two wins – Beau Barry from Southend Diving had the best possible start to this year’s GoCardless Swim England Diving National Age Group Championships.

Barry was a standout amongst a host of fantastic performances in an exciting opening day of competition.

He won his first event, the Open Group D 3m, for the first time with a final score of 158.20, ahead of Corby Steel Diving Club’s Leonard Soltoianu (147.60) and Dive London Aquatics Club’s Liam Wilson-Roberts (144.80).

With a final score of 146.58, he continued his success together with his synchro partner Blake Scroxton, to take home gold medal number two after a tight battle with Sheffield’s Issac Beck and George Storey-Field (144.66) in the Open Group C/D 1m Synchro event.

In the Female Group A/B 3m Synchro event, Plymouth’s Maddie Elliott and Poppy Jones claimed gold (187.71) together, after individually winning a silver medal just hours before.

Their teammates, Rose McCabe and Evie Royal (186.66), put up a good fight for the Synchro 3m win but narrowly fell short by just over one point.

It was a successful double podium for Plymouth Diving, which was then completed by Southend Diving’s duo Rain Downer and Emily Anstis (185.04) in third.

Richards reaps rewards

Dive London’s Myia Richards impressed early on in the Female Group A 3m event. After finishing fourth last year in Group B, she was on the top step today with a final score of 307.40.

Plymouth Diving’s Elliott (288.40) was awarded the silver medal prior to her synchro success, and finished ahead of third placed Scarlett Hallam (278.95) from Dacorum Diving Club.

Simultaneously to the 3m event, the first Female Group B winner of this year’s championships was crowned as Samantha Barr from the Southampton Diving Academy won gold in the 1m event.

After finishing ninth in the same competition last year with a score of 203.15, she improved her 2024 performance by more than 30 points, winning the event with a total score of 234.75.

Poppy Jones (229.55) earned more silverware for Plymouth Diving on day one, whilst Chloe McCurdy (227.85) secured the bronze medal for the City of Sheffield Diving Club.

In the Open Group C Platform event, Alex Christian won gold for the City of Sheffield Club after an outstanding performance. With a final score of 295.30, he was the only diver in the event, to exceed 200 points.

A tight battle between Rami Cooper from the Southampton Diving Academy and Plymouth Diving’s Seth Greentree resulted in Greentree (187.35) taking second place with less than one point more than Cooper (186.40) in third.

To view the full results, click here.