Greg Louganis and Orlando Duque were among the high-profile spectators for the first day of training on Friday ahead of the third stop in the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in Athens, Greece.
Louganis, 51, will judge his first World Series event on Sunday and the presence of the US Olympian added an extra element to the warm-up at Lake Vouliagmeni.
“Every diver has heard of Greg Louganis, he’s a legend,” said Alain Kohl. “I’m looking forward to his judging. I just hope he is not too tough on us! He will probably be able to see things that nobody else sees.”
“I’ve listened a little bit to how Greg has been speaking to us about technique, how you rotate in a twist, for example,” said Jorge Ferzuli. “This is good for me because I’m always looking at how to do better. I’ve seen the videos of him diving because it was a bit before my time, but, for sure, he’s one of my heroes.”
Nine-time world champion Duque is forced to watch the action unfold from the side of the lake after arriving in Greece on crutches following the broken ankle he sustained in a skydive last month.
“Of course being here is bittersweet,” he said. “I get to watch, but I don’t want to be watching, I want to be competing. I just have to focus on the recovery now and getting better soon.”
Besides Louganis and Duque, a limited number of 5,000 spectators will watch the action unfold at Lake Vouliagmeni on Sunday. You too can watch the competition live on Red Bull TV. The coverage begins at 4pm (CEST).
