Diving at the Summer Olympics

Lore & Background

Diving was introduced at the 1904 Games in St. Louis with two men's events: a platform diving event called 'fancy high diving' and a plunge for distance, where divers remained motionless after a standing dive. The plunge for distance was replaced by springboard diving at the 1908 Games. Women's diving debuted in 1912 with a platform event, and springboard diving for women was added in 1920. A separate 'plain high diving' event for men, which allowed only simple straight dives, was held from 1912 to 1924 before merging with fancy high diving into 'highboard diving'.

Reader's Guide

Diving at the Summer Olympics has undergone significant changes since its inception. From 1928 to 1996, the program remained stable with two men's and two women's events. In 2000, synchronized diving for springboard and platform was added, expanding the total to eight events. China first competed in 1984 after boycotting previous Games due to the political status of Taiwan, and has since become the dominant force, winning 55 gold medals. At the 2024 Paris Games, Chinese divers swept all eight gold medals, surpassing the United States in the all-time medal tally. The sport is governed by World Aquatics, which also oversees artistic swimming, marathon swimming, swimming, and water polo.

Did You Know?

• Women's diving debuted at the 1912 Summer Olympics in the platform event.
• At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Chinese divers won seven gold medals, setting a record.

The Dual-Award Bidding Process

When the International Olympic Committee opened the candidature window in September 2015, five cities stepped forward to host the 2024 Summer Games: Budapest, Hamburg, Los Angeles, Paris, and Rome. The field quickly narrowed as Budapest, Hamburg, and Rome all pulled out, leaving just two contenders. Rather than force a head-to-head vote, the IOC executive board convened in Lausanne in June 2017 and proposed an unprecedented solution: award both the 2024 and 2028 Games simultaneously. An Extraordinary IOC Session in July 2017 green-lit the plan. Paris, whose 2024 hosting would coincide with the centennial of its 1924 Games, was naturally favored for the nearer slot. On July 31, 2017, the IOC declared Los Angeles the sole candidate for 2028, backed by an additional $1.8 billion in IOC funding. The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously in August, and on September 13, 2017, a unanimous vote at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru, formally confirmed the award. IOC president Thomas Bach singled out the bid's reliance on existing and temporary venues and its entirely private funding model as record-setting achievements.

A Historic Third Hosting

Los Angeles 2028, running from July 14 to 30, 2028, will represent the fifth Summer Olympics and the ninth Olympic Games of any kind staged on American soil. More notably, it will make Los Angeles the third city in Olympic history to host the Summer Games three times, joining London (1908, 1948, 2012) and Paris (1900, 1924, 2024). What sets LA apart is that it will be the first non-European city to achieve that distinction, having previously hosted in 1932 and 1984. The Games will also be the first Summer Olympics conducted under the IOC presidency of Kirsty Coventry. While the primary host city is Los Angeles, the event footprint extends across the Greater Los Angeles area and even includes two subsites in Oklahoma City. Public support has been strong but has shifted over time: polls from LMU and the LA Times in 2018 showed more than 88% of Angelenos in favor, while a March 2023 Suffolk University and LA Times survey found 57% viewing the Games positively and 20% expecting a negative impact.

Building the Transit Backbone

Civic leaders initially envisioned a car-free 2028, aiming to cut congestion, shorten travel times, and ease security-related parking restrictions near venues. Former Mayor Eric Garcetti launched the Twenty-eight by '28 initiative, a plan to complete 28 infrastructure projects before the Games, drawing funding from countywide sales tax measures known as Measure R and Measure M. Most projects were already in planning, but the initiative accelerated their timelines. Mayor Karen Bass later added strategies like encouraging remote work during the event to reduce pressure on the transit network. By March 2024, the original list had been significantly revised: eleven projects, including five rail line expansions, were swapped for smaller, more feasible alternatives. Observers raised alarms that only 5.2% of LA Metro's $3.3 billion Olympic-related project list was funded, with several projects running behind schedule. Uncertainties around government staffing, interagency coordination, and the late finalization of the venue list compounded the challenges. These realities prompted a strategic pivot from a fully car-free vision to a more pragmatic transit-first approach. Key rail work includes the D Line extension, built in three phases from 2014 onward, and the Regional Connector, completed in 2023, which links Metro light rail lines in downtown for easier transfers.

A Shifting Olympic Program

The 2028 Games will feature a notably expanded and evolving sports program. Three disciplines that debuted as optional events in 2020—skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing—have been elevated to the core Summer Olympics program, signaling their permanent place in the Games. Beyond those, flag football and squash will make their Olympic debuts as optional sports. The program also welcomes back baseball and softball, while cricket returns for the first time since 1900 and lacrosse reappears as a medal event for the first time since 1908. This blend of new, returning, and long-established sports reflects the IOC's ongoing effort to keep the program relevant to modern audiences while honoring Olympic tradition. The breadth of the 2028 program means athletes and fans alike will encounter a wider range of competition than in recent editions, from the fast-paced action of flag football to the precision of squash, all staged across the Greater Los Angeles area and its two Oklahoma City subsites.