Diving at a height into a swimming pool is called high diving. It can be done as an adventure sport, as a performance stunt, or as a competitive activity during competitions. In 2013, after being added to FINA’s list of disciplines, it made its debut at the World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona.
Male competitors leap from a 27-meter-high platform, while female competitors jump from a 66-foot platform. While males usually dive from a height of 22-27 meters (72-89 feet), women generally dive from a height of 18-23 meters (59-75 feet) during other formal events. Until the days leading up to a tournament, athletes are unable to practice in a real setting. High divers have reached speeds of 96 miles per hour during their fall (60 mph).
It was at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis when diving was first included in the official Olympic program. Ever since, highdiving has been a part of the Olympic Games. Divers performed acrobatic feats throughout the dive, earning it the nickname “fancy diving”.The International Swimming Body regulates and supervises this discipline of Aquatics along with swimming, synchronized swimming, and water polo.
How high is the high dive in the Olympics?
A competitor dives at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. (Getty)
In order to safely dive from the 10-meter-high platform, diving pools must be at least five meters (16 feet) deep. The 10-meterplatform is currently the tallest diving platform in the Olympic events. On a sturdy platform 10 meters (32 feet) above the pool, divers execute acrobatics and jumps. In 1904, the men’s 10-meter platform was added to the Olympic program, and in 1912, the women’s platform was added.
During the Olympics’ “fancy high diving” era (1912-1924), a distinct sport called “simple high diving” was also contested. Divers that do simple high diving jumps from a 10-meter platform, but do not execute any stunts in the air, are called plain high divers. When simple high diving, the objective was to make an as little splash as possible when striking the water, although this was not always feasible.
After the 1924 Olympics, plain high diving was seen to be too dull, so it was replaced by a 3-meter springboard, which allowed divers to execute stunts in mid-air. From that point on, fancy high diving was the sole 10-meter platform event in the Olympics.
