Diving (sport)

This article is about the sport of jumping into water, often acrobatically. For swimming or working below the surface of the water, see underwater diving. For the same, without apparatus, see freediving. For competitive scuba diving, see sport diving (sport). For other uses, see Diving.

Diving
Chinese pair Chen Aisen and Lin Yue at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Highest governing bodyWorld Aquatics
Characteristics
TypeAquatics
Presence
OlympicPart of the Summer Olympic programme since 1904
Woman performing a "swallow dive", 1937

Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, usually while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally recognised sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.

Competitors possess many of the same characteristics as gymnasts and dancers, including strength, flexibility, kinaesthetic judgement and air awareness. Some professional divers were originally gymnasts or dancers as both the sports have similar characteristics to diving. Dmitri Sautin holds the record for most Olympic diving medals won, by winning eight medals in total between 1992 and 2008.[1]

  1. ^ Glenday, Craig (2013). Guinness World Records 2014. Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 258. ISBN 9781908843159.