Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2010: Orlando Duque Wins In Hawaii

After more than 20,000 miles of travel, nearly 200 three-second dives and 17,263.45 points awarded, the the final event of the 2010 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series was held at Kawainui Falls in Hawaii.

For the first time this season, Orlando Duque claimed an event win at the finale of the 2010 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. However, Duque could not compete with Gary Hunt, who dominated four out of the six tour stops and took the 2010 title.

Celebrating his victory in his home state, Hawaii, was the perfect way to end the season for Orlando Duque.

"All the locations we went to were special, but this has got to be the best one for me. Winning here at home in Hawaii makes it for me," said Orlando Duque.

Not only was he on his home turf, but also the finals fell one day after his 36th birthday.

“I guess you could call it a present," said Duque. "They were three good dives of mine and I’m happy that I got to win. This has definitely been my best competition."

Gary Hunt finished the final event of the 2010 season 9.6 points behind Orlando Duque and secured himself second place in Hawaii.

"It helped that Gary made two small mistakes so I was able to overtake him but it’s definitely my best competition," admitted Orlando Duque. "My plan is to win the title back next year. I will practice a lot, get back to the gym and do my homework. But Gary’s going to do the same.”

Only one point away from the title before the final stop, Gary Hunt was finally confirmed as the overall winner.

“It’s great, I’m speechless. It’s not just Orlando, Artem has shown his strength throughout the Series. There’s also Kent who’s working on new dives and is trying to improve. I’m going to be working on my running take-off. That is now my aim in the off -season to perfect that take-off and use it next year,” said Gary Hunt.

The grand final of the 2010 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series was hosted in the sport’s birthplace. In the remoteness of a privately-owned waterfall, the top six athletes in the overall rankings automatically qualified for the 2011 edition.