Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, usually while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.
Freediving, free-diving, free diving, breath-hold diving, or skin diving is a form of underwater diving that relies on breath-holding until resurfacing rather than the use of breathing apparatus such as scuba gear.
World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA, is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in water sports. It is one of several international federations which administer a given sport or discipline for both the IOC and the international community. It is based in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The 10th FINA World Aquatics Championships were held July 12–27, 2003 in Barcelona, Spain. The championships featured competition in all 5 of FINA's disciplines: Swimming, Diving, Synchronised swimming, Water Polo, and Open Water Swimming.
The 2007 World Aquatics Championships, or the XII FINA World Championships, were held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 March to 1 April 2007. The competition took place at three locations in central Melbourne: the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, St Kilda Beach, and Rod Laver Arena in a temporary pool christened the Susie O'Neill Pool.
Herbert Nitsch is an Austrian freediver who has held world records in all of the eight freediving disciplines recognised by AIDA International. He is the current freediving world record champion and "the deepest man on earth". This title was given to him when he set a world record in the "No Limit" discipline at the depth of 214 meters. To date, he has achieved 33 official World Records across all freediving disciplines, and one world record in the traditional Greek discipline of Skandalopetra 107 m (351 ft). He surpassed his own No Limit depth with a dive in June 2012 to 253.2 meters, suffering injury in the process.
Thomas Robert Daley is a British diver and television personality. Specialising in multiple events, he is an Olympic gold medallist in the men's synchronised 10-metre platform event at the 2020 Olympics and double world champion in the FINA 10-metre platform event, winning in 2009 at the age of fifteen, and again in 2017. He is an Olympic bronze medallist in the 2012 platform event, the 2016 synchronised event, and the 2020 platform event, making him the first British diver to win four Olympic medals. Daley also competes in team events, winning the inaugural mixed team World title in 2015. He is a one-time Olympic champion, 3-time World Champion, a 2-time junior World Champion, a 5-time European champion and 4-time Commonwealth champion.
Performance Freediving International (PFI) is a freediving training agency founded in 2000 by Kirk Krack. Krack coached World Champion Freedivers, Mandy-Rae Cruickshank and Martin Stepanek. PFI teaches freediving clinics around the world and is involved in both team and athlete development. Since 2004, PFI has hosted DejaBlue, which is an international freediving competition. In July 2019, PFI was purchased by International Training, the owner of companies including Scuba Diving International and Technical Diving International.
High diving is the act of diving into water from relatively great heights. High diving can be performed as an adventure sport, as a performance stunt, or competitively during sporting events.
Guillaume Néry is a French free diver.
Underwater sports is a group of competitive sports using one or a combination of the following underwater diving techniques - breath-hold, snorkelling or scuba, usually including the use of equipment such as diving masks and fins. These sports are conducted in the natural environment at sites such as open water and sheltered or confined water such as lakes and in artificial aquatic environments such as swimming pools. Underwater sports include the following - aquathlon, finswimming, freediving, spearfishing, sport diving, underwater football, underwater hockey, underwater ice hockey, underwater orienteering, underwater photography, underwater rugby, underwater target shooting and underwater video.
Skandalopetra diving dates from ancient Greece, when it was used by sponge fishermen, and has been re-discovered in recent years as a freediving discipline. It was in this discipline that the first world record in freediving was registered, when the Greek sponge fisherman Stathis Chantzis dived to a depth of 83 m in July 1913. It consists of a variable ballast dive using a skandalopetra tied to a rope. A companion on a boat recovers the diver by pulling the rope up after the descent, and keeps a watch on the diver from the surface.
Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) is an international federation that represents underwater activities in underwater sport and underwater sciences, and oversees an international system of recreational snorkel and scuba diver training and recognition. It is also known by its English name, the World Underwater Federation, and its Spanish name, Confederación Mundial De Actividades Subacuáticas. Its foundation in Monaco during January 1959 makes it one of the world's oldest underwater diving organisations.
Goran Čolak is a Croatian free-diver.
The diving competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 7 to 20 August at Maria Lenk Aquatic Center in Barra da Tijuca. It was one of four aquatic sports at the Games, along with swimming, water polo, and synchronised swimming.
Sport diving is an underwater sport that uses recreational open circuit scuba diving equipment and consists of a set of individual and team events conducted in a swimming pool that test the competitors' competency in recreational scuba diving techniques. The sport was developed in Spain during the late 1990s and is currently played mainly in Europe. It is known as Plongée Sportive en Piscine in French and as Buceo De Competición in Spanish.
The high diving portion of the 2013 World Aquatics Championships was held from 29–31 July 2013 at the Port Vell in Barcelona, Spain.
Underwater photography is a scuba-based underwater sport governed by Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) where teams of competitors using digital underwater camera systems all dive at the same saltwater ocean sites at the same time over a two-day period. The submitted digital images are then assessed and ranked by a jury using a maximum of five photographic categories as well as an overall score. The sport was developed prior to 1985 as a photographic film-based event and is currently mainly practised in non-English speaking countries.
The diving competitions at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo featured eight events. It was one of four aquatic sports at the Games, along with swimming, water polo, and synchronised swimming.
Alessia Zecchini is an Italian freediver who set world and Italian records in freediving.
