PARIS, France — Part of the Olympics since 1904, diving is a sport that takes its athletes to soaring heights -- specifically, more than 30 feet above a pool.
Originally called "fancy diving" for the somersaults and twists divers performed while leaping into the water, the competition began as a men's platform dive and expanded to include a men's springboard event in 1908. A women's competition was added in 1912. Synchronized diving was introduced to the Olympics at the 2000 Games in Sydney.
Here's everything you need to know about the diving competition at the Paris Olympics.
What are the diving events at the Olympics?
There are eight diving events at the Olympics. Dives are performed from either the three-meter springboard or the 10-meter high dive. Individual and synchronized events for men and women take place at both heights.
The three-meter springboard allows divers to jump higher into the air as part of their dive. Divers make their high dive from a stable ten-meter (33-foot) platform.
- 3m springboard (men's and women's)
- 10m platform (men's and women's)
- Synchronized 3m springboard (men's and women's)
- Synchronized 10m platform (men's and women's)
How is Olympic diving scored?
In the individual events, divers are judged on criteria like how "aesthetically pleasing" a diver’s movements are, the complexity of the acrobatics and how they enter the water. In synchronized diving, two divers perform the same dive at the same time and are judged on both their execution and synchronization.
Men attempt six dives during each round; women make five attempts.
The scoring system can leave newcomers to the sport a little confused. Dives are given a degree of difficulty rating based on body position and how many twists and somersaults they perform in the dive.
In the individual events, dives are scored by seven judges on a scale of one to ten. The top two and bottom two scores are eliminated. The remaining three scores are added together and multiplied by the degree of difficulty rating for the dive. That is the total score for the dive.
Synchronized diving features an eleven-judge panel. Six judges grade each diver’s execution individually; the other five grade their synchronization. The highest and lowest scores for each diver and for synchronization are dropped, and the remaining five scores are added up, then multiplied by 0.6 to better match an individual score, then multiplied by the degree of difficulty.
How many rounds are there in Olympic diving?
Individual diving events consist of a preliminary, semifinal and final round. Eighteen divers make the cut to the semifinal, and only 12 compete in the final round. Scoring is reset after each round.
Synchronized diving events have only one round, which determines the medal order.