Diving doesn’t exactly dominate the sports betting markets throughout the year.
The Olympics is the pinnacle for the sport, however, and people who never usually watch diving will begin to take an interest.
That can be because they’re rooting for a home favourite, or just that it’s getting more exposure. With the pauses between contestants, diving has ample live betting opportunities.
Before you start evaluating the latest odds, make sure you have a full understanding of the rules and regulations.
History
There is evidence of diving as a hobby several centuries BC. Modern diving competitions, though, only began in the 1880s in the UK. While the birth of the sport is not entirely clear, it is expected that this came from the use of dives at the beginning of swimming races.
Initially going by ‘plunging’, records of the deepest dives were kept in the 19th century, and some gymnasts conducted their acrobatics into water several centuries prior.
Gymnasts in Germany and Sweden used water to pull off more elaborate moves in the early 1800s. In England, Highgate Ponds had the first diving boards of 4.3 metres in 1893, which is where the inaugural National Graceful Diving Competition was held.
Sweden’s ‘Fancy Diving’ was introduced to the British at this event. It became part of the National Graceful Diving Competition by 1903 and played a part in the formation of the Amateur Diving Association in 1901.
Plain diving was an event at the 1904 Olympics. Fancy diving was added for the 1908 Games. Women were allowed to participate from 1912, and in 1928, the two disciplines were merged into one. The 1948 Games in London saw the diving event held indoors for the first time ever.
Synchronised diving events were added for men and women were added for the 2000 Olympics in Australia.
Rules
Men’s Olympic diving events have six dives per round. Women’s events have five dives per round.
There is a preliminary round in the four individual events, followed by an 18-diver semi-final and a 12-diver final. The synchronised events (with two divers per team) go straight from the preliminary round to the final, which features eight teams.
The following events will take place at the 2024 Olympics:
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Men's and women's 3 metre springboard
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Men's and women's 10 metre platform
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Men's and women's synchronised 3 metre springboard
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Men's and women's synchronised 10 metre platform
There are six different types of dives, one of which is only applicable in the platform. Men’s platform divers must attempt each of the six. Springboard divers can choose which one they use twice.
Women’s springboard divers must attempt all five, and platform divers can choose which one they leave out.
Here are the types of dive:
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Forward
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Backward
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Reverse
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Inward
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Twisting
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Armstand (platform only)
Scoring
Individual diving events are scored by a panel of seven judges. Synchronised events are scored by 11 judges. Execution (and synchronisation for team events) are scored by each judge.
In individual competition, the two highest and two lowest scores are removed. The three remaining scores are added together and then multiplied by the degree of difficulty to give the final score.
In synchronised events, three judges focus on one diver’s execution, three focus on the other diver’s execution, and the other five are looking at the synchronisation.
The median scores are used for diver one and diver two, which are then added to the three median synchronisation scores. This is multiplied by 0.6 then multiplied by the degree of difficulty.
An alphanumeric code is given the describe a dive’s degree of difficulty. This describes the body position, number of twists, dive group, and somersaults.
For the dives themselves, judges are told to evaluate the starting position, take-off, flight, and entry. For synchronised events, similar criteria are used along with synchronisation elements for in-flight movements and entry.
Board Size & Dimensions
Divers at the Olympics use a three-metre springboard and a 10-metre fixed platform. A pool used by Olympic divers must be at least five metres deep.
Divers will have a warm shower after each dive. They will often sit in a hot tub when waiting to keep their muscles warm.
Equipment
Springboards for Olympic diving are made of a single piece of aluminium and coated with a slip-resistant substance. The springboard is 50 centimetres wide and almost five metres long.
You will also see Olympic divers wearing wrist guards to protect them from the impact of hitting the water at up to 35 miles per hour.
Most Successful Countries at the Olympics
The United States are by far the most successful country in Olympic diving with 141 total medals.
China’s 47 golds are only two fewer than the USA, however, and they topped the diving medal table at the last nine Games.
Germany are a distant third with 22 total medals. Sweden (six) are the only country other than the US and China with more than four golds. China and the USA have combined for 222 of 391 total diving medals.
*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
