Romanian athlete Catalin-Preda, who won gold in the 20-meter high diving event at the European Aquatics Championships in Paris, said on Monday upon his return home, at the Henri Coanda Airport that winning the continental title made him very happy.

'It was a strong and new competition for us. This is a new event here in Paris, the 20-meter event in our discipline of high diving. The performance was on a par with it, though. This medal reflects a lot of joy, it reflects the work, all the sacrifices and everything that falls under the category of sports cliché, but that is the reality. It was an enormous joy to finally have the gold medal around my neck, the one I had been waiting for so long, ever since 2022, the first edition of the European Championships for our discipline. High diving has continued to grow, transform and evolve throughout all these years. At the [2022 European Championships in Rome] victory slipped through my fingers and I won silver; back then, I shared the podium with Constantin [Popovici]. Here, too, he had a good performance, even though the final score he achieved now does not reflect his performance and potential. That's simply how sport is; there are better days and less good days, but once again we were both contenders for a medal. I made it to the top step. I am proud of how I prepared, I am happy and very grateful to everyone who has been by my side throughout this time, believed in me and supported me, especially in the moments when things seemed not to be coming together or even to be falling apart. Thanks to their encouragement, I continued to lay one brick on top of another and be here today, to bring joy to those around me, to myself and to everyone who follows and supports us on this road to excellence. Paris seems to have always been fertile ground for my performances. It's in France that I won my first victory in the high diving World Series, then came Paris with a record score in 2022, and this year, winning the European title here as well makes me very happy,' Preda declared.

He explained that his final dive in Paris was not the most difficult one in his program.

'I would like to make a small technical clarification as well: my last dive was not the most difficult one in the program. On the first day of competition, I performed my most difficult dive. The program itself is established well in advance: the dives are selected, prepared ahead of time and declared before the competition begins. It is a technical program that you declare, submit the sheet for and execute the dives in the order expected by the judges. The last dive was indeed the most difficult one of that particular day, while my overall technical program was the most difficult. I am happy that I reaped the fruits I had been striving and yearning for all this time. It is a beautiful medal that reflects the joy I shared with everyone around me. I felt that everyone was happy alongside me and for me, and that means a lot. It confirms to me that I am doing things right and that the formula I am applying works,' the athlete said.

Before and during the European Championships in Paris, Catalin Preda had been dealing with pain following an injury he suffered three weeks earlier.

'For me, there's a period of rest and recovery lying ahead. Alongside the joy, this medal also reflects quite a lot of pain. After the World Cup in Sardinia, three weeks ago, I suffered an injury. The past few weeks were filled with uncertainty and physical pain. It was quite an intense psychological battle, but all's well that ends well. Only I know how much I gritted my teeth to make it to Paris and give it my all. The medal shines even more brightly knowing that I overcame the pain. I followed the medical protocol and underwent every possible therapy to be able to perform at my full potential, and the result shows that I did a good job,' he said.

Asked whether he was looking forward to the inclusion of high diving in the Olympic Games, Catalin Preda replied:

'Absolutely. The Olympic dream has existed for each of us ever since we embarked on our sporting journey. Even though the process has been more difficult and slow at times since 2013, there has been steady progress. High diving is not yet part of the Olympic program, but it is on the radar of the International Olympic Committee. Every appearance at every competition is a step in the right direction, and we each add a drop until the glass is full. It is a sport with enormous potential, incredibly complex and spectacular. Sometimes, the television screen fails to convey the full height and the visual impact that you can only experience when you are physically present beside the platform.'

Romanian athlete Catalin Preda won the gold medal in the 20-meter high diving event at the European Aquatics Championships in Paris on Saturday.

Preda, who was fourth after the first two rounds on Saturday, won with 411.60 points. The other Romanian in the competition, Constantin Popovici, who was in third place on Saturday, finished only seventh in the final, with 325.40 points.

In 2022, in Rome, Romania achieved a high diving one-two, with Popovici taking gold and Preda silver. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Florea; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)