The 1904 Summer Olympics were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 29 August to 3 September 1904, as part of an extended sports program lasting from 1 July to 23 November 1904, located at what is now known as Francis Field on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. This was the first time that the Olympic Games were held outside Europe.
At the 1904 Summer Olympics, in St. Louis, diving debuted as an official two-event Olympic sport. The competitions were held on Monday, 5 September 1904 and on Wednesday, 6 September 1904. It included the only Olympic appearance of the plunge for distance event.
A diving platform or diving tower is a type of structure used for competitive diving. It consists of a vertical rigid "tower" with one or more horizontal platforms extending out over a deep pool of water. In platform diving, the diver jumps from a high stationary surface. The height of the platforms – 10 metres (33 ft), 7.5 metres (25 ft) and 5 metres (16 ft) – gives the diver enough time to perform the acrobatic movements of a particular dive. There are additional platforms set at 3 metres (9.8 ft) and 1 metre (3.3 ft). Diving platforms for FINA sanctioned meets must be at least 6 metres (20 ft) long and 2 metres (6.6 ft) wide. Most platforms are covered by some sort of matting or non-slip surface to prevent athletes from slipping.
Diving was first introduced in the official programme of the Summer Olympic Games at the 1904 Games of St. Louis and has been an Olympic sport since. It was known as "fancy diving" for the acrobatic stunts performed by divers during the dive. This discipline of Aquatics, along with swimming, synchronised swimming and water polo, is regulated and supervised by the International Swimming Federation (FINA), the international federation (IF) for aquatic sports.
Lajos Gönczy was a Hungarian high jumper. He participated in Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis and the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens and won two medals.
Ramón Fonst Segundo was a Cuban fencer who competed in the early 20th century. He was one of the greatest world fencers, individual and by team; he was born and died in Havana.
Otto Wahle was an Austrian-American swimmer who took part in two Summer Olympic Games and won a total of three medals. Wahle coached the men's US swim team at the 1912 Olympics, and the men's US water polo team at the 1920 and 1924 Olympics.
At the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, four diving events were contested. The men's plain high diving event was dropped from the Olympic program. The competitions were held from Monday, 6 August 1928 to Saturday, 11 August 1928.
The men's 2590 metres steeplechase was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. It was the only time the event was held at the 2590 metre distance, though the 1900 Summer Olympics had featured a similar event in the 2500 metre steeplechase. The competition was held on August 29, 1904. 7 athletes from 2 nations competed. Jim Lightbody of the United States won the first of his three gold and four overall medals in the 1904 Games. Irishman John Daly took silver, with Lightbody's countryman Arthur L. Newton earning bronze.
The men's triple jump was a track and field athletics event held as part of the athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. It was the third time the event was held. Seven athletes, all from the United States, participated. The competition was held on Thursday, September 1, 1904.
The welterweight was the third heaviest boxing weight class held as part of the Boxing at the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held on Wednesday, September 21, 1904 and on Thursday, September 22, 1904. It was the first time the event, like all other boxing events, was held in Olympic competition. Welterweights had to be less than 65.8 kilograms. Four boxers competed.
Plunge for distance was an underwater diving event held as part of the diving at the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held on Monday, September 5, 1904. It was the first time diving events were held at the Olympics. Five divers competed.
The men's singlestick was a singlestick event held as part of the fencing at the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. It was the only time the event was held at the Olympics. Three fencers competed. The competition was held on Thursday, September 8, 1904.
The men's 10 metre platform, also reported as high diving, was one of four diving events on the diving at the 1928 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was actually held from both 10 metre and 5 metre boards. Divers performed four compulsory dives – running plain dive, backward somersault, standing plain dive, running plain dive – and four dives of the competitor's choice, from either platform, for a total of eight dives. The competition was held from Thursday 9 August 1928 to Saturday 11 August 1928. Twenty-four divers from twelve nations competed.
Albert Zürner was a German diver who competed in the 1906 Summer Olympics, in the 1908 Summer Olympics, and in the 1912 Summer Olympics.
Francis "Frank" Gailey was an Australian-born American competition swimmer who swam in the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St. Louis, Missouri.
Georg Hoffmann (1880–1947) was a German freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke swimmer and diver who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics and 1906 Intercalated Games.
George Herbert Sheldon was an American diver who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics and won the inaugural platform diving competition.
Frank D. Kehoe was an American diver and water polo player. He represented the United States at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, where he won a bronze medal in the diving competition and a silver medal in the water polo competition.
Cao Yuan is a Chinese diver and an Olympic gold medalist, having won three golds, one silver and one bronze in the Olympics. He has also won golds in diving at the World Championships and World Cups.
