SOUTHAMPTON diving icon Gary Hunt has won the high diving World Championships in Kazan, Russia.

Hunt, who is a four-time Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series Champion, bettered his silver medal finish from two years ago, maintaining his lead that he opened up on Monday in the first three rounds.

The 31-year-old former Quays diver, who is now based in Paris, scored an impressive 629.30 points and went into the last round with a 33-point lead.

Very much in the back of Hunt's mind were the demons of 2013, when he blew a 38-point lead and had to plump for second.

"That stuck with me. I had to live with that for two years," Hunt said, whose family live in Eastleigh. "I just told myself, `Don't do it again.''

Daily Echo:

Above: Gary Hunt in action at the Kazan competition.

However, he carried his imperious Red Bull Series form, where he’s won five stages in a row, into the FINA competition.

There were some familiar faces at the 27m dive event, including arch-rival Artem Silchenko, who won bronze on the banks of the Kazanka river, on home turf.

Another Red Bull competitor Jonathan Paredes, from Mexico, took second place on 596.45.

Defending champion Orlando Duque, a veteran of the diving scene who defeated Hunt by a single point last time, finished sixth with the highest score of the final round, with an 151.20-point dive, after a sluggish start.

Hunt was pleased to erase the disappointment in Spain from his memory.

"I had to live with Barcelona for two years," Hunt explained "I was nervous to do the same thing here. To have a gold medal round my neck is a big relief.

"Over the winter I put my blinkers on and got down to hard training. Now it's job done."

He reflected that he feared that there might be a repeat of 2013.

"I was in the same position I was in Barcelona and with a bad dive I would have missed the gold," he said.

"It was definitely possible, but luckily for me it didn't happen."

Hunt will be back in action at the World Series in ten days' time, where he looks to make it six victories in a row at the Bosnia and Herzegovina stop.

Watch below first-hand the incredible heights Hunt climbs to to perform a high-dive. (Go to three minutes for the dive).