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NSWIS Divers Ready to Make a Splash in Fukuoka

New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship athletes Brittany O’Brien, Sam Fricker, Nikita Hains, Lauren Flint and Milly Puckeridge have been selected in Diving Australia’s team of 10 divers to represent Australia at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.

Rhiannan Iffland qualified for the team’s 20m High Diving event after finishing in second place at the World Cup in Florida over the weekend.

The team is headlined by Olympic bronze and Commonwealth Games gold medalist Maddison Keeney who will compete in her signature 3-Metre event.

Commonwealth Games gold medalist Georgia Sheehan will have one of the biggest programs in Fukuoka, competing in the individual 1-Metre and 3-Metre events, and teaming up with Rio 2016 Olympian and Commonwealth Games silver medallist O’Brien in the 3-Metre Springboard Synchro.

After a breakthrough year in 2022 where she qualified for her debut World Championships and Commonwealth Games, Nikita Hains returns to the Team, alongside World Championships debutants Puckeridge and Flint.

Commonwealth Games gold medalist Cassiel Rousseau will represent Australia in the 10-Metre Platform and Men’s 10-Metre Platform Synchro with partner Domonic Bedggood.

Former World Champion Shixin Li will compete in both the Men’s 1-Metre and 3-Metre, with Tokyo Olympian Fricker set to partner with Li in the Men’s 3-Metre Synchro, as well as the 3-Metre and 10-Metre individual events.

Diving Australia General Manager High Performance Steve Foley said it was an exciting time for diving.

“The World Aquatics Championships is the pinnacle event on the international diving calendar in 2023, not only for Australia but every national diving federation,” he said.

“This year, in particular, offers the first chance to qualify quota positions for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

“Our 10-strong Australian team have displayed over the past five days in Perth at the 2023 Australian Open Championships that they have what it takes to compete against the very best in the world.

“On behalf of Diving Australia, I’d like to congratulate all of the athletes selected, and look forward to seeing what they can produce in Fukuoka,” he said.

The 2023 World Aquatics Championships will be held in Fukuoka from 14 to 30 July, with diving getting underway on the opening day at Fukuoka Prefectural Pool.

At the last FINA World Championships in 2022, the Australian diving team secured two medals. Shixin Li won bronze in the Men’s 1-Metre Springboard, and the Olympic medal pairing of Maddison Keeney and Anabelle Smith took out bronze in the Women’s 3-Metre Springboard Synchro.