Diving was introduced in the Olympics during the 1904 games at St. Louis and since then it has been a regular feature in all the Olympics. Let us know about Diving at the Olympics as a sport in detail.
Know about Diving at the Olympics
The sport of Diving is being regulated by FINA along with the International Federation for Aquatic Sports and it has total 8 events in the Olympics, 4 for men and 4 for women. Diving is also known as ‘fancy diving’ in the Olympics because it has some of the acrobatic skills which have to be performed by the divers.
When Diving was introduced to the Olympics it was having only two events like ‘platform diving’ and ‘a plunge for distance’. In ‘a plunge for distance’ the diver who has reached the farthest inside the water while remaining motionless after making a ground level standing dive used to be declared a winner. But in 1908 men’s spring board diving was added and plunge for the distance was removed. Women made their first presence in the diving in the 1912 Olympics. Till the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp only jump was allowed in the diving and in the 1924 Olympics in Paris a highboard diving was introduced. During the Sydney Olympics in the year 2000, the events were raised to 8 and since then there are total 8 events in diving.
The 8 Events in Diving at the Olympics
- Men’s 3 meter springboard – 24 games
- Men’s 10 meter springboard – 25 games
- Men’s synchronized 3 meter springboard – 4 games
- Men’s synchronized 10 meter platform – 4 games
- Women’s 3 meter springboard – 22 games
- Women’s 10 meter platform – 23 games
- Women’s synchronized 3 meter springboard – 4 games
- Women’s synchronized 10 meter platform – 4 games
Defunct Events of Diving in Olympics
- Men’s plunge for distance
- Men’s plain high diving
Nations Participation and Olympic Medal Standings in Diving
There have been 80 nations in total who have sent their representatives in the Olympics when it comes to diving for last 24 Olympic Games. The United States of America is the leader in the overall medal tally with 135 medals, out of which 49 are Gold, 42 are Silver, 44 are Bronze. China is on the distant second place with 59 medals in total, out of which 33 are Gold, 17 are Silver and 9 are Bronze. Sweden is at the third place with 21 medals in total.