Among the disciplines included in the programme of the Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina, freestyle skiing, and specifically aerials skiing, stands out for its aerial spectacle and for a technical language that feels familiar to followers of high diving. Although one takes place on snow and the other on water, both sports share a common acrobatic foundation that goes far beyond visual similarities.
In aerials skiing, athletes ski at high speed down a slope before launching themselves from a jump of around seven and a half metres, performing up to three somersaults and multiple twists before landing on a steep incline. In high diving, athletes leap from platforms of 20 or 27 metres, executing similar sequences of flips and rotations before entering the water feet first. Two very different environments, but a remarkably similar aerial logic.
Technical similarities: difficulty, execution and landing
The similarities between the two disciplines are clear. In both aerials skiing and high diving, regulations require athletes to land on their feet, judging systems discard the highest and lowest scores, and the final mark is multiplied by the degree of difficulty. Even the technical language is comparable: complex codes in high diving and terms such as “full”, “double full” or “triple full” in aerials to describe rotations.
That technical connection is clearly explained by Trace Worthington, a two-time Olympian in aerials and a regular high diving commentator. “You have to keep your core very tight, you need a powerful take-off and patience in execution. If you leave the jump or the platform square, that sets the tone for the entire dive or jump,” he explains. Worthington also highlights the importance of spotting, the visual reference that allows athletes to orient themselves between rotations and understand where they are and how much time they have left before landing.
Equipment weight and freedom of movement
Beyond the similarities, the technical differences are decisive. In high diving, the initial impulse is limited: the athlete jumps from the platform and the highest point of the dive usually coincides with the first rotation, after which the descent begins. In aerials skiing, the context is completely different. “In aerials, you hit the jump at around 40 to 45 miles per hour and get launched upward by a very steep kicker,” Worthington explains. “If you’re doing a triple backflip, you’re still rising when you enter the second flip. That’s usually where the apex is, before you start dropping.” Added to that vertical movement is a horizontal trajectory that forces athletes to calculate precisely the distance to the landing zone.
Another less obvious difference lies in the equipment. Aerials skiers compete wearing boots, skis, bindings, helmet and full kit, adding significant mass to every rotation. “Moving all that weight is very different from high diving, where you’re in a swimsuit and barefoot,” Worthington points out. That difference affects rotation speed and the ability to make adjustments in the air. From the other side, high divers often admire the lift provided by the aerials jump. “They experience it as flying,” the former Olympian explains, “being carried by speed and the jump, something that doesn’t exist in diving, where everything depends on the initial push.”
Cross-influences and learning between disciplines
The relationship between the two sports is not purely theoretical. At the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Ales Valenta stunned the world by landing a jump featuring three somersaults with five twists, a combination never before completed in competition. To achieve it, he adopted arm positions borrowed from diving, under the guidance of his coach Vladimir Aleynik, a two-time Olympic medallist in diving.
Looking ahead, Worthington believes aerialists can learn a great deal from the twisting speed of high divers. “Aerials is moving towards jumps with three flips and six twists. To survive that jump, you need a whole new level of rotation technique and core strength,” he says, citing Constantin Popovici, world champion in high diving, as a reference for physical discipline and rotational ability.
Profiles that could cross from one sport to the other
In that crossover space, Worthington identifies specific profiles with potential to adapt. “Aidan Heslop has a twisting technique and spotting that really reminds me of an aerials skier,” he explains, while noting that his height could be a limitation on snow. On the women’s side, he highlights Rhiannan Iffland, due to her trampoline background and aerial control.
Ultimately, the connection between aerials skiing and high diving is rooted in mutual respect between two disciplines that share risk, precision and acrobatics. “What impresses them most about the other sport isn’t the acrobatic side, it’s the context,” Worthington concludes. “Aerialists look at the height of high diving and think it’s insane. High divers see the speed coming into the snow and can’t understand how they control the take-off. They all know what to do in the air. What scares them is everything else.”
