Diving (sport)

Diving is a sport in which athletes jump or fall into water from a springboard or platform, frequently while executing acrobatic maneuvers. It is an Olympic event and is also practiced recreationally in informal, non-competitive settings.

Competitors in diving typically share traits with gymnasts and dancers, such as strength, flexibility, spatial awareness, and control in the air. Some professional divers began their careers in gymnastics or dance because of these similarities. The diver with the most Olympic medals is Dmitri Sautin, who won eight medals between 1992 and 2008.

**History**

**Antiquity** Evidence of diving appears in ancient art. A wall painting from around 530–500 BCE in the Tomb of Hunting and Fishing shows a person climbing rocks toward a cliff and another diving off it into water. A fresco in the Tomb of the Diver in Paestum, dating to about 500–475 BCE, depicts a person diving from a structure into a pool or stream.

**Plunging** While diving has been a widespread pastime for centuries, the first modern diving competitions took place in England in the 1880s. The sport’s exact origins are uncertain, but it likely developed from the act of diving at the start of swimming races. In the 1600s, gymnasts moved their equipment to beaches and performed acrobatics over water. The 1904 book *Swimming* by Ralph Thomas mentions English reports of plunging records from at least 1865. The 1877 edition of *British Rural Sports* by John Henry Walsh notes that a "Mr. Young" plunged 56 feet (17 m) in 1870, and that 25 years earlier a swimmer named Drake could cover 53 feet (16 m). The English Amateur Swimming Association (then called the Swimming Association of Great Britain) began a "plunging championship" in 1883, which was discontinued in 1937.

**Fancy Diving** In Germany and Sweden, gymnasts had long used water as a soft landing to perform more elaborate midair feats from greater heights. This tradition evolved into "fancy diving," while diving as a preliminary to swimming became known as "plain diving." In England, high diving became popular. The first diving stages were built at Highgate Ponds at a height of 15 feet (4.6 m) in 1893, and the first world championship event, the National Graceful Diving Competition, was held there by the Royal Life Saving Society in 1895. It included standing and running dives from 15 or 30 feet (4.6 or 9.1 m). At this event, Swedish athletes Otto Hagborg and C. F. Mauritzi introduced fancy diving techniques from the 10 m board, leading to the formation of the Amateur Diving Association in 1901, the world’s first diving organization (later merged with the Amateur Swimming Association). Fancy diving was formally added to the championship in 1903.

**Olympic Era** Plain diving debuted in the Olympics in 1904. The 1908 London Games added fancy diving and introduced elastic boards instead of fixed platforms. Women first competed in diving at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. In 1928, plain and fancy diving were combined into a single event called "Highboard Diving." The first indoor diving event was held at the Empire Pool for the 1934 British Empire Games and the 1948 London Olympics.

**Competitive Diving** Most diving competitions include three disciplines: 1 m and 3 m springboards, and platform events. Athletes are divided by gender and often by age group. In platform events, divers may use towers of 5, 7.5 (commonly called 7), 9, or 10 meters. In major meets like the Olympics and World Championships, platform diving is from 10 meters. Divers must perform a set number of dives, including somersaults and twists. Judges evaluate the completion of each dive, body alignment, and the splash upon entry. A possible score out of ten is divided into three points for the takeoff (including the hurdle), three for the flight, and three for the entry, with one extra point for judge flexibility. The raw score is multiplied by a degree of difficulty based on the movements attempted. The diver with the highest total after a sequence of dives wins.

**Synchronized Diving** Synchronized diving became an Olympic sport in 2000. Two divers form a team and perform identical dives simultaneously. Previously, divers could perform opposite dives (a pinwheel), such as one forward and one inward dive in the same position, or one reverse and one back movement, but this is no longer allowed in competition. Dives are judged on execution quality and synchronicity—timing of takeoff and entry, height, and forward travel.

**Judging & Scoring** Scoring rules consider three elements: the approach, the flight, and the entry. Key factors include the length and quality of a handstand hold if required, the height of the dive, and the control throughout.