Born of the flying twists and turns of gymnastics with the added element of watery danger, diving has evolved into one of the most graceful and spectacular events on the Olympic Programme.
Competitive diving began in the late 1600s when thrill-seeking gymnasts in Sweden and Germany pulled their equipment out on the beaches each summer to practice their flips and somersaults over the water. As the event became more specialized, diving gradually evolved into its own discipline.
Following the first "plunging" competition in England in 1893, the Royal Lifesaving society of Great Britain sponsored a national graceful diving competition in 1895. The regularly held competition continued with various changes through 1961.
Men's platform diving debuted at the Olympic Games in 1904 with the men's springboard competition following in 1908. Diving became one of the first Olympic sports introduced for women with a platform competition in 1912 and a springboard event in 1920.
The early Olympic programs included just 14 platform and 20 springboard dives compared to the 82 platform and 87 springboard dives. The degree of difficulty has also changed dramatically. A double somersault from the platform was considered dangerous diving when the sport first appeared at the Olympic Games. Today, competitors continue to press for more and more difficult dives.
Germany and Sweden reaped most of the medals in the early Olympic competition. But since 1920, the United States has dominated the competition at the Olympic Games, winning 125 of the 235 medals awarded in the men's and women's events.
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for
the Olympic Games Sports Publication Department. Written by Howard
Thomas.
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