The levels of grace and artistry have no limits, and neither, it seems, does the level of difficulty.
In displays of courage and athletic ability matched only by precision and creativity, the divers at the Centennial Olympic Games could provide fans with a performance unrivaled in Olympic history. New, more difficult dives are now available to competitors and the risks could result in gold for the world's top divers.
Once the sole domain of the forward four-and-one-half somersault, the 3.5 degree-of-difficulty category now includes several new dives. The new standard of complexity, the 3.6 degree-of-difficulty, features just one dive: the back one-and-one-half somersault with four-and-one-half twists.
All of this twisting above the water has also put a spin on the sport's traditional standings. The United States has long been the world's most dominant team in Olympic diving competition, winning 121 medals and two-thirds of the gold medals awarded in the sport. Russia and Germany also have enjoyed success in the sport, but the People's Republic of China used the artistic acrobatics to capture three of the four gold medals in Barcelona.
For the women, China's Fu Mingxia is the reigning Olympic champion in the springboard and could become the first woman since 1960 to win both diving events in the same Games. Her top competition could come from two of her teammates: world champion Tan Shuping in the springboard and World Cup champion Chu Bin on the platform.
Also in the women's springboard, Russians Vera Ilyina and Yulia Pahalina finished third and fourth at the 1995 World Cup while Mexico's Mary Jose Alcala also could contend for a medal. World Cup bronze medalist Vyninka Arlow of Australia and Anne Montminy of Canada could provide the biggest threat to the Chinese duo.
A master of some of the new, high degree-of-difficulty dives, defending Olympic champion Sun Shuwei of China is among the men's favorites on the platform along with World Cup silver medalist Jan HEMPEL of Germany and 1994 world champion Dmitri SAUTIN of Russia. SAUTIN also is among the favorites in the springboard competition after edging out China's XIONG Ni and WANG Tianling for the gold medal at the 1995 World Cup. Don't count out the American divers in the springboard. Not including the boycott year of 1980, the United States has won 15 of the last 16 gold medals awarded in the event. Mark LENZI took top honors for the United States in 1992.
As divers stretch the limits of athletic ability with spectacular moves in the air, they have not forgotten the technical precision and attention to mechanics that accompany the elusive perfect 10 from the judges. Ripping the ultimate dive also will require the immeasurable quality of style and personality long-admired by Olympic judges. But as divers compete in a dive-after-dive test of oneupsmanship, the biggest challenge could be how to top one another. Considering all the talent assembled at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, that may be the most difficult feat of all.
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for
the Olympic Games Sports Publication Department. Written by Howard
Thomas.
| Pin trading was one of the most popular Olympic sports, with more than 1.2 million pins changing hands during the Games in the Coca Cola Pin Trading Center at Centennial Olympic Park. |