NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport

13-year-old Oleksii Sereda wins European diving championship

By Andrew McMurtry of news.com.au
news.com.au·
14 Aug, 2019 07:15 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Oleksii Sereda of Ukraine. Photo / Getty

Oleksii Sereda of Ukraine. Photo / Getty

Ukrainian diver Oleksii Sereda has stunned the world with an incredible result to take out the European Diving Championships 10m platform gold medal in his hometown of Kiev.

With his penultimate dive, he scored 91.20 with an armstand back 2 somersault 1.5 twist free, in a near flawless dive.

He then scored 81.60 with his final dive to take out the championship by 14 points.

Did we mention he is just 13 years old?

He becomes the youngest champion in the competition's history, beating British over-achiever Tom Daley, who won his first European title in 2018 at 13 years, 10 months.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Sereda is three months younger.

"I'm happy that I could finish on the first place. My third dive was not that good but the others were satisfying," he said.

"I wouldn't say I was not nervous before the competition, if you see differently then you saw it wrong. I was just as nervous as everyone else, I just kept thinking on my dives, wanted to keep my focus and close out any chance to commit any mistakes.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The first time I've competed with senior divers was at the World Championships and now here at these Europeans, but this did not affect my preparations and my performance. I just try to do my job the best possible and do not really care of the results. But of course, I am happy that I could win, it's very nice."

To make us all feel like we've achieved nothing with our lives, Sereda finished fourth at the World Championships in Gwangju last month.

And we should get used to seeing his name up in lights with divers eligible for an Olympic berth at the age of 14 with his win securing his place at Tokyo 2020.

He just makes the cut, turning 14 in December.

Discover more

Black Caps

Live: Black Caps v Sri Lanka

14 Aug 04:00 AM
Warriors

Faith or forced? The Warriors' 'back to the future' move

14 Aug 03:30 AM
All Blacks

The 'seismic shift' that could ruin the Rugby World Cup

14 Aug 05:30 AM
All Blacks

New 'Spidercam' channel for All Blacks test

14 Aug 06:00 AM

"We expected him to medal but gold is unbelievable," Ukrainian Diving Federation sports manager Yaro Tokmachov said.

"When everyone realised he'd become European champion they all went crazy. There was a huge celebration."

But the Ukrainian Diving Federation is also worried about exposing him too soon.

"He's still a child," Tokmachov told Sport Today. "Now it's very important to manage all things around him properly because he's become very popular in Ukraine and around the world.

"His subscribers on Instagram and other social media is growing like crazy. It's very important how he and his parents behave now.

"The strategy of his coaching and management are some of the many important things we need to take care of."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A ⭐️ is born...

13-year-old Ukrainian Oleksii Sereda became diving's youngest-ever European champion winning 10m platform gold 🥇

Sereda is three months younger than Tom Daley when he won his maiden European title and finished fourth at recent World Championships 😱

Prodigy 💫 pic.twitter.com/Z8psAP1MLl

— Laureus (@LaureusSport) August 13, 2019

What a season this wee guy has had! @LeonTaylorGB https://t.co/WAJEZmdb02

— Katherine Downes (@KDownesBBC) August 12, 2019

Sereda went to swim at the age of six but an early coach recognised his talent for how he enters the water and introduced him to diving.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

New Zealand

Watch: 'Hand of God' controversy in schoolboy rugby scrum

19 Jun 04:29 AM
BoxingUpdated

'No truth in it': Gallen hits back at SBW claims

19 Jun 04:00 AM
Sport

Rising star Sophia Lafaiali'i shines in Mystics' pivotal victory

19 Jun 03:01 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

Watch: 'Hand of God' controversy in schoolboy rugby scrum

Watch: 'Hand of God' controversy in schoolboy rugby scrum

19 Jun 04:29 AM

Crestfallen Hastings Boys' players were 'pretty emotional' about the incident, says coach.

'No truth in it': Gallen hits back at SBW claims

'No truth in it': Gallen hits back at SBW claims

19 Jun 04:00 AM
Rising star Sophia Lafaiali'i shines in Mystics' pivotal victory

Rising star Sophia Lafaiali'i shines in Mystics' pivotal victory

19 Jun 03:01 AM
'Where I need to get to': Black Caps hopeful wants NZ debut despite T20 lure

'Where I need to get to': Black Caps hopeful wants NZ debut despite T20 lure

19 Jun 02:00 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP