Diving at the Summer Olympics
Encyclopedia
Diving
was first introduced in the official programme of the Summer Olympic Games
at the 1904 Games of St. Louis
and has been an Olympic sport since. It was known as "fancy diving" for the acrobatic stunts performed by divers during the dive (such as somersault
s and twists). This discipline of Aquatics, along with swimming
, synchronized swimming
and water polo
, is regulated and supervised by the International Swimming Federation
(FINA), the international federation (IF) for aquatic sports.
, men's springboard diving was added to the programme replacing the plunge for distance, regarded as uninteresting. Women's diving debut happened at the 1912 Summer Olympics
in the platform event and was expanded to springboard diving at the 1920 Summer Olympics
. A parallel platform diving event for men, called "plain high diving", was presented at the Games of the V Olympiad. No acrobatic moves were allowed, only a simple straight dive off the platform. It was last contested at the 1924 Summer Olympics
after which it was merged with "fancy high diving" into one competition renamed "highboard diving" (or just "high diving").
By the time of the 1996 Summer Olympics
, the diving events were exactly the same as in 1928
. However, four years later in Sydney
, the inclusion of a synchronized diving
variant for the springboard and platform events elevated the list up to eight events.
Another important change to the sport occurred in the 1984 Summer Olympics
, when China
was first allowed to compete, ending the ban imposed upon them by FINA because of their nation's government. China won most of the medals since then.
labeling.
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
was first introduced in the official programme of the Summer Olympic Games
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...
at the 1904 Games of St. Louis
1904 Summer Olympics
The 1904 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the III Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States from 1 July 1904, to November 23, 1904, at what is now known as Francis Field on the campus of Washington University...
and has been an Olympic sport since. It was known as "fancy diving" for the acrobatic stunts performed by divers during the dive (such as somersault
Somersault
A somersault is an acrobatic exercise in which a person does a full 360° flip, moving the feet over the head. A somersault can be performed either forwards, backwards, or sideways and can be executed in the air or on the ground...
s and twists). This discipline of Aquatics, along with swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, synchronized swimming
Synchronized swimming
Synchronized swImming is a hybrid form of swimming, dance and gymnastics, consisting of swimmers performing a synchronized routine of elaborate moves in the water, accompanied by music....
and water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
, is regulated and supervised by the International Swimming Federation
International Swimming Federation
Fédération Internationale de Natation is the International Federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee for administering international competition in the aquatic sports...
(FINA), the international federation (IF) for aquatic sports.
History
The first Olympic diving events were contested by men and consisted of a platform diving event ("fancy high diving") and also a plunge for distance event, which heralded victorious the diver who could reach the farthest underwater, while remaining motionless after a ground-level standing dive. At the 1908 Summer Olympics1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...
, men's springboard diving was added to the programme replacing the plunge for distance, regarded as uninteresting. Women's diving debut happened at the 1912 Summer Olympics
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 5 May and 27 July 1912. Twenty-eight nations and 2,407 competitors, including 48 women, competed in 102 events in 14 sports...
in the platform event and was expanded to springboard diving at the 1920 Summer Olympics
1920 Summer Olympics
The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium....
. A parallel platform diving event for men, called "plain high diving", was presented at the Games of the V Olympiad. No acrobatic moves were allowed, only a simple straight dive off the platform. It was last contested at the 1924 Summer Olympics
1924 Summer Olympics
The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1924 in Paris, France...
after which it was merged with "fancy high diving" into one competition renamed "highboard diving" (or just "high diving").
By the time of the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
, the diving events were exactly the same as in 1928
1928 Summer Olympics
The 1928 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam had bid for the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, but had to give way to war-victim Antwerp, Belgium, and Pierre de...
. However, four years later in Sydney
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, the inclusion of a synchronized diving
Synchronized diving
Synchronized diving is an Olympic sport. First brought to the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia in 2000, the event features two divers who attempt to perform identical or mirrored dives...
variant for the springboard and platform events elevated the list up to eight events.
Another important change to the sport occurred in the 1984 Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
, when China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
was first allowed to compete, ending the ban imposed upon them by FINA because of their nation's government. China won most of the medals since then.
Medal table
| 1 |  United States |
48 | 41 | 42 | 131 |
| 2 |  People's Republic of China |
27 | 14 | 8 | 49 |
| 3 |  Sweden |
6 | 8 | 7 | 21 |
| 4 |  Soviet Union |
4 | 4 | 6 | 14 |
| 5 |  Russia |
3 | 7 | 6 | 16 |
| 6 |  Italy |
3 | 4 | 2 | 9 |
| 7 |  Australia |
3 | 2 | 6 | 11 |
| 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| 9 |  Germany |
2 | 8 | 10 | 20 |
| 10 |  German Democratic Republic |
2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| 11 |  Mexico |
1 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| 12 |  Canada |
1 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| 13 |  Czechoslovakia |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 14 |  Denmark |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 |  Greece |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 |  United Kingdom |
0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 17 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| 18 |  Egypt |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 19 |  France |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 20 |  Ukraine |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 106 | 106 | 108 | 320 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Events
All events are named according to the International Olympic CommitteeInternational Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
labeling.