All About Olympic Diving - Very Young Divers

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Make it look easy

If the dive looks spectacularly difficult, the diver is probably not at the top of his or her game. The best make the toughest dives look easy. As a rule of thumb, the simpler a dive looks when executed, the higher the score. From a technical standpoint, divers need to finish high above water so they have a lot of drop time. On a springboard, a dive must finish at the height equal to the board.

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Categories of Dives - A Little Confusing 

There are five categories of dives in springboard diving, labelled by the type of flight: forward, backward, reverse, inward and twisting. In platform diving, there's also the armstand dive.

In the forward dive, the diver faces forward, while in the backward dive, the diver's back is toward the water. For the reverse dive, the diver faces forward and rotates back toward the board. In the inward dive, the diver faces away from the water, and rotates toward the board.

For the armstand dive, the diver begins from a motionless handstand at the edge of the platform. To assume this position, the diver can either walk, press or "pushup," kick or cartwheel into it. There are many variations of the armstand dive, including forward handstands, backward handstands, twisting handstands and forward cut-through handstand dives.

Inspirational Biography 

Sixteen Years In Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story

Sixteen Years In Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story

by: Paula Yoo

Amazon Price: $11.53 (as of 07/13/2009)Buy Now

This inspirational biography recognizes the life of the first Asian American to win an Olympic gold medal, at the 1948 Games in London. Even though he grew up in California when "people of color" were only allowed to use the public swimming pools one day a week, Lee was never discouraged from his dream. In college, he made an agreement with his father that he would keep good enough grades to enter medical school, but continue to enter diving competitions. Yoo brings the biography to a dramatic conclusion with the 16 seconds of a three-and-a-half somersault dive.

Interesting Facts 

Total Olympic diving medals awarded since 1904: 249

Diving medals won by U.S. since 1904: 126 (51%)


Total diving medals awarded from 1904 to 1912: 22


Diving medals won by Germany and Sweden from 1904 to 1912: 20 (91%)



Total diving medals awarded from 1984 to 2000: 72


Diving medals won by China from 1984 to 2000: 29 (40%)


Greg Louganis' age when he won first Olympic medal in 1976: 16


Alexandre Despatie's when he won Commonwealth Games gold in 1998: 13


Last major meet where Despatie failed to win a medal: 2000 Olympics



First diver to be awarded a perfect score of 10.0: Peter Desjardins (U.S.) 1928


Height of platform: 10m


Depth of pool: 5m


Amount of time a dive takes: 1.5 seconds


Top speeds of divers hitting the water: 40 kilometres per hour

Learn 

games
Springboard & Platform Diving

Springboard & Platform Diving

by: Ronald F. O'Brien

Amazon Price: $17.96 (as of 07/13/2009) Buy Now

The Techniques of Springboard Diving

The Techniques of Springboard Diving

by: Charles Batterman

Amazon Price: $17.16 (as of 07/13/2009) Buy Now

Can Plymouth Boy Make Olympic History? 

Set to become GB's second youngest male Olympian, Daley will compete in the individual 10metre platform and the 10m synchronised with Blake Aldridge.

"I'm totally overwhelmed," said the 14-year-old Daley. "To know you're going to an Olympics after all the hard work and speculation is unbelievable.

"I'm going to go the Olympics and enjoy every minute of it."

Thirteen Year Old's Bid For Olympic Dive Team

Only just a teenager, Tom Daly is competing for a place in Britain's diving team for Beijing.

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Gestring and Hill Set Olympic Records in Berlin 

At the tender age of 13 years, 265 days, Marjorie Gestring of the U.S. became the youngest athlete to win an Olympic medal win she captured the springboard title at the Olympic Games in 1936. To date she still holds that record and baring any rule changes, her accomplishment will likely stand the test of time. Sadly, Gestring would never return to the Olympics which were cancelled in 1940 and 1944 because of World War II. She failed to make the team in 1948.

Dorothy Poynton-Hill made her mark in Berlin when she became the first diver in Olympic history to win the same event in successive Olympics. She followed up her victory on platform in Los Angeles in 1932 with a second gold in Berlin.

Current News - Just Updated 

Beijing Olympics 2008 COMPETITION SCHEDULE

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