V.

History

Diving has been a human activity as long as swimming has been, from simple entries into the water to jumps for fun from natural high points such as cliffs and outcroppings.

During the 1800s diving headfirst into the water to swim became popular, and a sport called plunging developed. Participants would plunge from the side of a pool or dock or any other high point above the water, hold their breath, and glide beneath the water for as far as possible. From 1893 to 1937, plunging championships were held, and the plunge was an event at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri.

Diving evolved as plunging participants attempted take-offs from greater and greater heights. In Europe and the United States, bridges served as locations from which to plunge. In Acapulco, Mexico, jumps and dives from high cliffs into the sea were attempted when the tide came in. In Hawaii, people jumped, dived, and somersaulted from great heights into deep pools at the bottom of waterfalls.

The modern sport of diving originated in Germany and Sweden at the beginning of the 19th century. At this time, people began moving gymnastics equipment outside onto beaches during the summer months. There, athletes practiced routines from flying rings, trapezes, and springboards built on high platforms, landing in the water after aerial maneuvers. The trapeze and rings were eventually discarded and diving from platform and springboard alone became popular. The sports were named springboard diving, plain high diving, and fancy high diving.

Competitive diving first gained international prominence in the early 20th century, when men’s plain high diving debuted as an Olympic event at the 1904 Games. Springboard diving joined the Games four years later in London, England. Men’s fancy high diving and women’s plain high diving became Olympic sports at the 1912 Games in Stockholm, Sweden. The women’s event, however, prohibited the twists and somersaults that made the men’s fancy high diving competition exciting. Women’s springboard diving joined the Olympics at the 1920 Games in Antwerp, Belgium. By the 1928 Games in Amsterdam, Netherlands, men’s plain and fancy diving events were combined into one event. Rules were also adopted that allowed women to use twists and somersaults.

Divers from Germany and Sweden dominated early international competition. After Swedish coach Ernst Bransten immigrated to the United States, however, American divers improved dramatically. Bransten introduced dry-land training, in which he mounted a diving board over a sandpit, enabling divers to practice the approach and take-off, then land feetfirst. Using this form of training, divers could practice more repetitions in a shorter time period, without getting wet.

During the 1920s Bransten’s work resulted in a series of successful American divers, including Al White, who won gold medals in the men’s springboard and platform diving at 1924 Games in Paris, France, and Pete Desjardins, who did the same at the 1928 Games.

Another prominent American coach was Mike Peppe, who headed the swimming and diving program at Ohio State University from 1931 to 1963. Peppe treated swimming and diving with equal importance and encouraged other schools do the same. His influence on college programs resulted in improved facilities for diving, more practice time for divers, greater respect for the sport, and the hiring of specialized diving coaches.

From the 1932 Games in Los Angeles, California, through the 1956 Games in Melbourne, Australia, American men and women won gold medals in each diving event except the 1956 men’s platform competition. One notable Olympic performer was Sammy Lee, who won gold medals in men's platform in 1948 in London, England, and in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. In the women's events, Pat McCormick won four gold medals, capturing springboard and platform titles in both 1952 and in 1956.

During the 1960s and 1970s, American divers began to share the world stage with Europeans. Bob Webster of the United States won the platform titles at the 1960 Games in Rome, Italy, and the 1964 Games in Tokyo, Japan, but in the women’s competition German diver Ingrid Kramer rose to prominence. She won three gold medals, capturing the springboard and platform titles in 1960 and repeating her victory in the springboard in 1964. Italian diver Klaus Dibiasi also won three gold medals, all in the men's platform: in 1968 in Mexico City, Mexico; in 1972 in Munich, Germany; and 1976 in Montréal, Québec, Canada. American divers dominated Olympic 3-m springboard competition during the 1960s and 1970s. Gary Tobian took the gold medal in 1960, followed by Ken Sitzberger in 1964; divers Bernie Wrightson and Sue Gossick won gold medals in 1968; Micki King took the gold in the 1972; and Phil Boggs and Jennifer Croudler captured gold medals in 1976.

American diver Greg Louganis dominated men’s competition during the 1980s. He had won a silver medal in men’s platform diving at the 1976 Games and then missed the 1980 Games in Moscow, Russia, because of a boycott by the U.S. team, but he won gold medals in springboard and platform at both the 1984 Games in Los Angeles and the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea.

In the 1980s Chinese divers emerged as the top divers in the women’s events. With the exception of Canadian diver Sylvie Bermier’s springboard gold medal in 1984, Chinese divers placed first at every Olympic competition from 1984 through 1996. Outstanding Chinese divers included Gao Min, who won springboard gold medals at the 1988 Games and the 1992 Games in Barcelona, Spain, and Fu Mingxia, who won her first gold in 1992 on the platform and then won both springboard and platform at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, Georgia.

A.

Recent Developments

In 1999 the International Olympic Committee approved synchronized diving as a sport at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. The ruling allowed for two events (3-m springboard and 10-m platform) for both men and women. In synchronized diving, a pair of divers form a team that simultaneously dives from the same height. Over five rounds, pairs must perform one round with forward facing take-offs by both divers, one round with backward facing take-offs by both divers, and one round with one diver taking off forward and one taking off backward. In the other two rounds, take-off position is optional. Judges score each individual diver’s execution, as well the synchronization of the pair’s performance. Judges consider factors such as the approach and the take-off; the similarity of height the divers reach during the dive; the coordinated timing of the movements during the flight; the similarity of the angles of the entries; the comparative distance from the board at entry; and the coordinated timing of the entries.