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  David Colturi is forever thankful that he took a summer job in an amusement park after graduating from college. It was there, while working in a water stunt show, that he took his first dives from a 20-metre perch, and his passion for the sport he loved was reignited.

  Having started diving at the age of five, Colturi enjoyed some high-level success, and in 2009 he was the US National Champion at 10m individual and synchronised. But, he openly admits that the “grind” had gotten to him and the enjoyment had diminished. All that changed with those first 20m dives and, along with good friend and teammate, Kyle Mitrione, he decided to give cliff diving a go.

  “Looking back, I can't believe that trip to the qualifier in Australia in 2012 would permanently change my life,” says the 32-year-old. “For the past 9 years I've been fortunate enough to live my dream, competing in the sport I love, traveling the world with my best friends, who have become family. It really is incredible.”

  Despite having endured more than his fair share of injuries over the years, including a ruptured spleen in the lead up to the Sisikon competition in 2018, Colturi has been one of the standout cliff divers over the last decade. The California-resident, who names Greg Louganis as his inspiration growing up, has 14 podiums in 52 starts, including becoming the youngest ever winner of a World Series event at the age of 24.

After returning from the enforced World Series break, Colturi was narrowly edged out of the permanent places in 2021 and will return to the 27m platform as a wildcard this year.

  Away from cliff diving, ‘spleenless Dave’ (as he likes to sign off his emails) is forever on the lookout for new and stimulating activities, both mentally and physically. He’s currently working on surfing and biking, while downtime often means burying his head in a good book or pursuing his research of high performance.