08:32
Faizan
Do Asian Olympic Divers have an advantage in Olympic Diving? Do Asian diver athletes with their slender bodies automatically have less of a splash when they hit the water? Think about this for a second, a small splash is the signature for a good dive, this is because the body of the diver must be aligned and go in total streamlined to produce little if any splash. Yes, there are other strategies like cupping your hands which makes the water flow inward and not splash outward, also swimming through the dive while underwater causes the water to flow quickly downward instead of splashing up.
Still, for the most part the slenderer the diver, the smaller the splash, smaller divers also have a bonus, less weight hitting the water. Gals who are full figured make a bigger splash than those who are small breasted, of course, these divers are generally in really good shape, flexible like gymnasts and have little body fat therefore generally smaller breasted female divers. Typically Asians are thinner than Westerners, some is diet and some is genetic, but typically this is what we find. I ask, does this give them an advantage with the judges?
Indeed, while doing this thought experiment, and with my knowledge of fluid dynamics; I would have to say yes, but to what degree is hard to say, as the Asian divers from Japan, China and other places are also very talented and practice a tremendous amount, and better divers also get higher scores of course. More research would be needed, perhaps body shapes as a percentage of population, BMI data, and hours trained (assuming competent coaches).
Likewise, going by this theory, slender divers from the US, UK, or of the European Union would also fair well, same with South American cliff divers who enter the Olympics, providing they are in optimal shape and have slender builds.
One more point here. The judges do not have access to slow motion cameras, and in the high-dive competitions the male athletes with all their power are doing 3-4 summersaults, and their rate of spin is so high that the small mistakes are often missed, but the tell-tale sign of the splash speaks volumes of the precision the athlete had achieved, thus, the amount of splash weighs heavy on the scoring process.
What I am saying is this; my questions and inquiries here do have merit, and you can look at the divers and see the slender divers, when they do a complex and precision dive seem to score higher than the more stalky build divers - the reason makes sense to me, I believe it is all about fluid dynamics as the athlete eases into the water - but more research, statistical and observable data is warranted.
Still, for the most part the slenderer the diver, the smaller the splash, smaller divers also have a bonus, less weight hitting the water. Gals who are full figured make a bigger splash than those who are small breasted, of course, these divers are generally in really good shape, flexible like gymnasts and have little body fat therefore generally smaller breasted female divers. Typically Asians are thinner than Westerners, some is diet and some is genetic, but typically this is what we find. I ask, does this give them an advantage with the judges?
Indeed, while doing this thought experiment, and with my knowledge of fluid dynamics; I would have to say yes, but to what degree is hard to say, as the Asian divers from Japan, China and other places are also very talented and practice a tremendous amount, and better divers also get higher scores of course. More research would be needed, perhaps body shapes as a percentage of population, BMI data, and hours trained (assuming competent coaches).
Likewise, going by this theory, slender divers from the US, UK, or of the European Union would also fair well, same with South American cliff divers who enter the Olympics, providing they are in optimal shape and have slender builds.
One more point here. The judges do not have access to slow motion cameras, and in the high-dive competitions the male athletes with all their power are doing 3-4 summersaults, and their rate of spin is so high that the small mistakes are often missed, but the tell-tale sign of the splash speaks volumes of the precision the athlete had achieved, thus, the amount of splash weighs heavy on the scoring process.
What I am saying is this; my questions and inquiries here do have merit, and you can look at the divers and see the slender divers, when they do a complex and precision dive seem to score higher than the more stalky build divers - the reason makes sense to me, I believe it is all about fluid dynamics as the athlete eases into the water - but more research, statistical and observable data is warranted.
Posted in: swimming
