Presse / 2005

Hospital stay following face and belly-flop / High-jumper Lars Börgeling victorious in individual competition, wins synchronized diving title together with Danny Ecker / Raab in fifth place / ProSieben tops prime time and daily ratings

Somersaults and belly-flops, elegance and gross motor skills – "The Great ‘Total TV’ High-diving Event" offered a little bit of everything.
The television audience for this live event thought so, too: In the commercially relevant target group of 14 to 49-year-olds, the average market share for the broadcast was 26.5 percent (3.85 million viewers aged 3 and older). With these ratings, ProSieben also led the daily market on Saturday with 16.1 percent. In the category of young viewers, ages 14 to 29, ProSieben scored high with "The Great ‘Total TV’ High-diving Event 2005" as well, with an average share of 42 percent. As many as 63.4 percent tuned in to watch the spectacular finale.

A slap in the face: Teen star Izzy from the pop band US5 was hospitalized with a possible torn retina after he overshot his two-and-a-half somersault jump, resulting in a nasty face and belly-flop. He and his band-mate Michael had been counted among the favorites for the "The Great ‘Total TV’ High-diving Event 2005" following a breathtaking display of acrobatics in training.

Event host Raab took only fifth place in both the individual and synchronized competitions; however, he can probably claim the prize for the most exciting performance: At the start of the show, the entertainer sped once around the sold-out swimming and diving arena in Berlin’s Europasportpark in a hover craft before his fellow divers – including Elton, reigning champion and former No-Angel Lucy Diakovskà, actress Annabelle Mandeng, Lars Börgeling and Danny Ecker, BRAVO-TV host BEN, Bürger Lars Dietrich, Klaas Heufer-Umlauf, Playboy Playmate Thessa Gierer, US5 stars Izzy and Michael, "Best of Formula One" host Kai Böcking and Norbert Dobeleit, host of "BIZZ" – marched in to strains of "Eye of the Tiger".

The athletes then participated in a top-class sports competition of Olympic-level quality – including dives from handstand position, double somersaults and twists. Newcomers such as Annabelle Mandeng stunned the viewers with their talent: Even Bürger Lars-Dietrich, a trained ballet dancer and stuntman could not outdo Ms. Mandeng’s performance. Elton showed himself to be particularly courageous. "Elton has been listless for hours," said Stefan Raab. Despite their fear of heights, for the second round of the synchronized competition, the pair decided to switch from the three-meter-high diving board to the five-meter platform at the last minute. The two had never rehearsed the dive at this height, and it was Elton’s first-ever jump from the five-meter board.

The highlight of the show was, without a doubt, the final dive by Oliver Pocher and Stefan Raab, who jumped from the 16 meter-high scaffolding under the roof of the arena into the pool below. Stefan (wearing foam crotch protectors) landed on his behind: "I know this much. I won’t be sitting down any more this evening!" This daring feat inspired co-host Sonya Kraus – dressed in a sailor suit – to jump from the ten-meter tower as well.

The competition results in detail:

Individual
1. Lars Börgeling (87.6 points)
2. Britta Kamrau (77.40 points)
3. Kai Böcking (73.80 points)
4. Annabelle Mandeng (58.50 points)
5. Stefan Raab (32.40 points)

Synchronized dive
1. Danny Ecker / Lars Börgeling (73.20 points)
2. Norbert Dobeleit / Kai Böcking (66.60 points)
3. Bürger Lars Dietrich / Ben (62.10 points)
4. Mundstuhl (43.50 points)
5. Stefan Raab / Elton (42.75 points)