(Reuters) – The 2020 Tokyo Olympics includes 33 sports. Diving, one of the oldest sports in the modern Games, is one of the aquatic events.
Here are some key facts about Olympic diving.
Introduced: Diving first featured in the 1904 Olympics, and the women’s event was added in 1912.
Events: There are eight diving events split between men and women who compete in individual or two-person synchronised dives off 10-metre platform and 3-metre springboard diving platforms.
Scoring: Individual dives are evaluated by a panel of seven judges, while synchronised dives are rated by 11 judges. Scores range from 0-10 based on the execution and degree of difficulty.
The highest and lowest scores from a competitor’s six dives are discarded, while the rest are weighted for difficulty.
Performing a dive: There are five elements to a dive, each evaluated as part of the overall score a diver receives. They are: starting position, approach, take off, flight (including overall height achieved), and entry into the water.
Types of dives: There are four main body positions a diver can use during flight — straight, pike, tuck and free.
Common mistakes: Judges can deduct points for poor posture prior to the dive, dives too close to the board and dives that fail to reach a sufficient height. Entry into the water is also scrutinised with excessive splash the main sign of a less-than-optimal dive.
Medal winners at the Rio 2016 Games: China dominated at the last Olympics, taking home gold in the four women’s events and in three of the four men’s competitions. Britain claimed gold in the men’s 3-metre synchronised springboard.
Sources: FINA, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Team USA
Graphic: https://graphics.reuters.com/OLYMPICS-2020-DIVING/0100B5CZ3FT/DIVING.jpg
(Reporting by Amy Tennery; editing by Ken Ferris)
