Luxembourg diver Alain Kohl will be competing with 23 men and thirteen women from eighteen nations at the FINA High Diving World Cup 2017 at the International YAS Marina Sport Club in Abu Dhabi this Friday and Saturday. 

Diving from a height of 27 metres — almost as tall as a nine-storey building — in a first for Luxembourg which has not had a diver in the World Cup before, Kohl is working on qualifying for the world championships in Budapest in July. He said that he is happy with his preparations so far. 

"The preparations for the World Cup went very well. Lastly, I was able to work on the subtleties of my jumps over Easter in the Coque. I would like to improve further compared to the last year, when I finished in 14th position,” said Kohl. 

"Alain has worked intensively on the difficulty of his jumping series over the past months. When everything is working out, he will show a triple somersault in the last jump with 2.5 screws and a difficulty of 4.3. If this leap is successful, the doors to a world championship qualification are open to him,” said Christian Hansmann, technical director of the Luxembourg swimming and rescue federation (FLNS). 

The best eighteen jumpers from this weekend’s competition will go forward to qualify for the Budapest World Championships.

Alain Kohl has been one of the sport's leading athletes since 2008, with his roots in the "Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.”  In 2011, the 34-year-old became fifth of the overall rating and celebrated his third biggest success in La Rochelle in the same year.