History of Diving

The History of Diving as you would have imagined is simply from people jumping off things into the water. The earliest forms of diving took the form of people jumping off cliffs, hills or trees. As diving history progressed people began to jump off of man made features such as buildings, bridges and fishing piers. Some of the original dwellers from exotic places used to impress the tourists while cliff diving and it sparked an interest in these individuals to take the feat back to there homes which helped spread diving.

The earliest of competitions in diving history was in the late 1800's. Often performed throughout Europe most every athlete performed the basic forward straight dive. Diving first debuted in the Olympics in St. Louis at the 1904 games where only made its first Olympic appearance at the 1904 St. Louis Games. It wasn't until 1908 that springboard diving was invented.

Around the early 1900's the diving world began to relax a number of its rules which started the evolution of pikes, tucks and somersaults. Diving has since evolved into a highly athletic display of power, skill and grace. A sport that has roots in gymnastics more so than swimming, which is evident of its Swedish ancestors who practiced training for gymnastics by landing in the water.

Diving always gains popularity around the time of the Summer Olympics as spectators line up to see incredible feats of flexibility, strength and power. The most prominent diver in US diving history is Greg Louganis, who went on to win several gold medals in dramatic fashion. The US has always recognized diving at every scholastic level. Most high schools and colleges maintain diving teams that often train with the swim teams. But don't get them mixed up, as divers are definitely not considered swimmers.

The history of diving is a simple one that involves the evolution of a sport from something as simple as jumping off high elevations into water. The sport has become one of tremendous athletes conquering great feats in the air that leave spectators breathless. From the summer pool party to the greatest athletes in the world, diving will always be great fun....So goes the history of diving.