Diving: Platform Ready

[NUguy514]

1 minute ago, greyhorse said:

Diving is ho-hum boring to me, and I'll admit I don't follow nor care much.  But I have always found it interesting that we get the cameras following the divers sitting in the hot-tub and rinsing off under the showers.  Why do we get this???  For swimming, we never get any "behind the scenes" to see them cooling down in the practice pool or rinsing off.  Why is diving different?

Well, divers get out of the pool and immediately rinse off and get into the hot tub to keep their muscles limber and loose, which is essential with the extreme bending required in diving; that footage also occurs while they're in the middle of competing and awaiting their scores.  If swimmers immediately exited the pool to get into a hot tub, I'm sure we'd follow them there; however, they usually stay in the pool for a minute and then do interviews, etc. before going to the cool down pool.  We sure got plenty of Phelps in the cool-down pool when he had ONLY 30 MINUTES OMG between races.

[Fukui San]

Diving is 2 seconds of action followed by 5-10 minutes of waiting for the next bit of action. The tv has to show something.

[blackwing]

I agree.  There's only so many times they can show us a replay while waiting for the scores, the cameras have to show us something, so why not the athletes.  Swimming is different because it's a race and then it's done.  The camera lingers on the swimmers sitting in the pool for a bit, then the swimmers get out and we usually see an interview.  Divers are in the midst of competition so aren't going to do any interviews so the camera just follows them around.

[blackwing]

Watched some of the women's 10m platform final.  China finished 1-2, and it was well deserved.  For all that people have been complaining that they are "tired" of seeing China always winning gold in diving, I think China deserves every bit of success in this sport.  Their two divers today were head and shoulders above the rest.  They are only 15 and 17 years old and they are so good that they prevented the defending Olympic champion, Chen Ruolin, from having a spot on the Chinese team.

China is fantastic in diving and are always the favorites to win the gold.  I don't begrudge them their success.  China always wins gold in diving.  The United States always wins gold in basketball and softball.  Where are all the complaints that people are sick of always seeing the U.S. win gold in basketball???

[Trey]

Kudos to Meaghan Benfeito of Canada for getting the bronze.  She was 9th after the preliminaries so must have done some really great diving.  I'm sorry I missed it but it was my nap time.  The two Chinese girls look like boys in their photos on CBC site.

Edited August 18, 2016 by Trey

[briochetwist]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

Watched some of the women's 10m platform final.  China finished 1-2, and it was well deserved.  For all that people have been complaining that they are "tired" of seeing China always winning gold in diving, I think China deserves every bit of success in this sport.  Their two divers today were head and shoulders above the rest.  They are only 15 and 17 years old and they are so good that they prevented the defending Olympic champion, Chen Ruolin, from having a spot on the Chinese team.

China is fantastic in diving and are always the favorites to win the gold.  I don't begrudge them their success.  China always wins gold in diving.  The United States always wins gold in basketball and softball.  Where are all the complaints that people are sick of always seeing the U.S. win gold in basketball???

Couldn't agree more. I never tire of seeing amazing athletes perform no matter what country they are from. But you left out that everyone always bitches that Canadians win gold in hockey!

[Mittengirl]

I may be remembering incorrectly, but didn't divers used to keep their knees together more in tuck/summersault  dives? Because they look really ugly now.

[NUguy514]

11 hours ago, blackwing said:

Watched some of the women's 10m platform final.  China finished 1-2, and it was well deserved.  For all that people have been complaining that they are "tired" of seeing China always winning gold in diving, I think China deserves every bit of success in this sport.  Their two divers today were head and shoulders above the rest.  They are only 15 and 17 years old and they are so good that they prevented the defending Olympic champion, Chen Ruolin, from having a spot on the Chinese team.

China is fantastic in diving and are always the favorites to win the gold.  I don't begrudge them their success.  China always wins gold in diving.  The United States always wins gold in basketball and softball.  Where are all the complaints that people are sick of always seeing the U.S. win gold in basketball???

The two of them really were fantastic.

Actually, softball was removed as an Olympic sport after 2008 because the US was so dominant.  Ironically, that announcement was made before the Beijing Games, and the US lost to Japan in the gold medal game.  It is coming back in 2020, but there apparently were plenty of complaints about American dominance.  They'll never get rid of men's basketball because the IOC wants NBA stars playing in its Games.  Who knows about women's basketball, though.

[proserpina65]

On ‎08‎/‎16‎/‎2016 at 6:33 PM, blackwing said:

No U.S. men on the podium in the finals of the men's 3m springboard, so it's unlikely there is any coverage of the event until the fourth hour tonight, if any.  What a disappointing final round for Mike Hixon.  He won the silver in the synchro, and qualified here from the semifinals with the 4th best total, but just didn't have it in the finals.  The other U.S. diver, Kristian Ipsen, was good enough, just not spectacular, and finished in 5th.  Defending Gold Medallist Ilya Zakharov did a bellyflop in the semis and scored zero points for that dive and didn't even make it to the finals.

I found myself horribly annoyed by the Mexican fans, who blew these air horns just before and after the Mexican diver.  Those things should be outlawed at an event that requires lots of concentration.

Congrats to Cao Yuan for his win.  He was fantastic and his win is well deserved.

I usually think the male Chinese divers are overrated, but Cao Yuan really impressed me with his unflappable-ness in the wind during the semis.  I can't really complain about the Chinese women winning gold and silver on the platform; they were clearly better than the rest of the field.  Chinese divers can be over-scored based on reputation, particularly in synchronized diving, but with these 3 divers that was definitely not the case.

Edited August 19, 2016 by proserpina65

[kittykat]

I love watching the Chinese divers.  It is nice when someone else slips in there (like David Boudia winning in London) but they really are a wonder to watch.

[Trey]

Did anyone watch the men's 10m platform prelims?  I wondered what happened to Maxim Bouchard of Canada - I could get updates on the scores on CBC and he was near the top for the first couple of dives then plummeted (literally apparently) to 19th spot.  Did he do a couple of belly flops?  Our other Canadian moved up a little and qualified for the semi-finals and even Maxim is a reserve.  But I can't find any info yet.

[meep.meep]

On 8/18/2016 at 1:23 PM, blackwing said:

Watched some of the women's 10m platform final.  China finished 1-2, and it was well deserved.  For all that people have been complaining that they are "tired" of seeing China always winning gold in diving, I think China deserves every bit of success in this sport.  Their two divers today were head and shoulders above the rest.  They are only 15 and 17 years old and they are so good that they prevented the defending Olympic champion, Chen Ruolin, from having a spot on the Chinese team.

China is fantastic in diving and are always the favorites to win the gold.  I don't begrudge them their success.  China always wins gold in diving.  The United States always wins gold in basketball and softball.  Where are all the complaints that people are sick of always seeing the U.S. win gold in basketball???

Probably all on the Chinese equivalent of this site!

I thought the two Chinese divers were fantastic, and as you say, way ahead of everyone else.

But what I really came here to say is, I don't know anything about diving and would be too scared to even attempt what they do.  But every four years, I love listening to the lady who does the diving commentary because she is totally unbiased, fantastic at detecting and describing faults, and not afraid to give praise to whoever deserves it.  I think she's from Texas.  I like watching the diving just to hear her talk about it.

[NUguy514]

Cynthia Potter is the commentator, and I agree that she is fantastic.

Tom Daley dove brilliantly in the prelims.  He was ripping those entries left and right, and it was soooo sexy.

Also, I just adore looking at divers' lower backs.  Looooord have mercy.

[sereion]

Although I want Boudia to win, I do have a soft spot for Tom Daly, and would be just as thrilled if he gets the gold. Plus, he is super hot...goodness.

[BlackberryJam]

Tom Daley is having a terrible day. I doubt he makes the final. Poor guy.

[NUguy514]

Welp, there goes my interest in the final.  Since I live on the West Coast, I didn't watch.  Did he just miss a ton of dives?

[BlackberryJam]

I didn't watch the entire competition, but I saw three of his dives and the low scores were right on the mark. It was just not his day. 

[catray]

Devastated that Tom Daley didn't make the final; he was on fire in the prelims! What a shame! Glad Boudia made it into the finals! 

[BlackberryJam]

Boudia wasn't really having his best either. The Chinese diver was amazing.

[Dots And Stripes]

I saw the preliminaries then just tuned into the finals and I'm shocked Tom Daley isn't there. They could not stop raving about him the other night and I believe they said he topped the gold medal score from London in the preliminaries. Did he put too much energy into round one? Poor guy. 

[Sew Sumi]

West coaster here. What happened to Steele Johnson in the semis? I don't see him on the finals list. Gutted for both him and Tom Daley. I assume that they both just tanked horribly. :(

eta: The Mexican divers' speedos. *sigh* /shallow

Edited August 20, 2016 by Sew Sumi

[Dots And Stripes]

I didn't watch the semis, but Steele barely qualified for the semis. I'm not surprised at his absence.

David in the lead after round 2! Yay!

[Sew Sumi]

Diving at the front of the order is going to hurt Boudia, I'm afraid. 81 isn't going to cut it; no way he is even top 4 after this round. 

[Dots And Stripes]

Bronze for David and Team USA!

[sereion]

Oh no! I hate Daley didn't make the finals. I was rooting for him, but yay for Boudia for bringing home the bronze!!!!

[blackwing]

I was out the entire day and kept myself unspoiled for the diving.  Was surprised that NBC chose to show us the semifinals, and then realised that it was only because Tom Daley failed to advance.  If Daley had made it, no doubt they would have skipped the semis and just showed us more of the finals.  For whatever reason, Tom Daley appears to be one of the only non-US athletes that NBC seems to slobber over.  The only other non-US athlete that gets more attention from NBC is Usain Bolt.

In the finals, I knew right away that the "other" Mexican diver that wasn't Ivan Garcia medalled.  Because no way would NBC bother to show so many of his dives.  What an amazing set of dives from Chen Aisen.  Well deserved gold.  Good for David Boudia to win the bronze.  Surprised at the collapse of Qiu Bo.  

This was Boudia's third Olympics.  Is he retiring, or will he try again in 4 years?

[biakbiak]

Quote

m Daley appears to be one of the only non-US athletes that NBC seems to slobber over.  The only other non-US athlete that gets more attention from NBC is Usain Bolt.

So they can flash to his Oscar winning American fiance in the crowd, even though most Americans don't know who he is?

Quote

m Daley appears to be one of the only non-US athletes that NBC seems to slobber over.  The only other non-US athlete that gets more attention from NBC is Usain Bolt.

So they can flash to his Oscar winning American fiance in the crowd, even though most Americans don't know who he is?

[NUguy514]

33 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

So they can flash to his Oscar winning American fiance in the crowd, even though most Americans don't know who he is?

Well, it took until yesterday for NBC to refer to Black as Daley's fiancé, and I'm frankly just glad they did that because they've been pretty infamous about not acknowledging same-sex spouses/partners when they do acknowledge opposite-sex spouses/partners all the time.

[azshadowwalker]

Hearing Ted repeatedly mispronounce the name Sanchez drives me nuts. No Mexican pronounces the a in that word like that. He sounds like a baseball announcer. They all mangle the ah sound that should be pronounced in names like Sanchez and Vasquez, among others. The only people I have heard pronounce the name like that are Puerto Ricans from the Northeastern US. German Sanchez is neither of those things. 

[legaleagle53]

4 hours ago, NUguy514 said:

Well, it took until yesterday for NBC to refer to Black as Daley's fiancé, and I'm frankly just glad they did that because they've been pretty infamous about not acknowledging same-sex spouses/partners when they do acknowledge opposite-sex spouses/partners all the time.

That's because same-sex marriage only received legal recognition in this country 14 months ago.  NBC wouldn't have touched it with a 20-foot pole before that happened because it would have been too controversial to go there at time even for them.

Edited August 21, 2016 by legaleagle53

[biakbiak]

I only watched the sychronized platform but they definitely referred to Dustin as his fiance during that coverage. Networks have acknowledged same-sex partners before marriage became legal across the nation there just aren't a ton of out athletes that get coverage.

[CaffeinatedAunt79]

18 hours ago, Dots And Stripes said:

Bronze for David and Team USA!

Yay! David is so handsome and seems like a nice, humble guy. Hope he comes back for Toyko.

[azshadowwalker]

On 8/19/2016 at 6:51 AM, proserpina65 said:

I usually think the male Chinese divers are overrated, but Cao Yuan really impressed me with his unflappable-ness in the wind during the semis.  I can't really complain about the Chinese women winning gold and silver on the platform; they were clearly better than the rest of the field.  Chinese divers can be over-scored based on reputation, particularly in synchronized diving, but with these 3 divers that was definitely not the case.

I love and trust Cynthia as a commentator and expert on the sport, because she's proven herself over decades. Never once have I heard her say the Chinese are over scored in any discipline.  They are just the best, and she is perfectly happy to acknowledge that. Too bad the rest of the commentators for the Olympics don't have her integrity, although I think Nastia isn't horrible in gymnastics. 

[Harry24]

I think Cynthia Potter has been excellent for all these years and continues.  I also think Laura Wilkinson and the sideline reporter both did a great job.  Ted Robinson is fine, although I tire of his "gee, whiz!!!!" tone.  

As with the rest of the disciplines, NBC has a way of making everything, even the live events, seem canned and packaged to draw all the life out of them.  It's really quite a talent.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

How tall is Boudia? He's so nice to look at. Too bad he's married and I'm not religious at all. I actually kind of want to read his book. While I can't relate to the finding faith part, I'd be interested to read about his struggles and perseverance. .

[NUguy514]

5 hours ago, MattDuffysCat said:

How tall is Boudia? He's so nice to look at. Too bad he's married and I'm not religious at all. I actually kind of want to read his book. While I can't relate to the finding faith part, I'd be interested to read about his struggles and perseverance. .

He's listed as 5'9".

[proserpina65]

Quote

Where are all the complaints that people are sick of always seeing the U.S. win gold in basketball???

FWIW - I hate the use of NBA players, and would love to see the US lose in basketball.

I ended up only watching some of the men's platform finals after Tom Daley had his inexplicable meltdown in the semis, but I'm thrilled for German Sanchez and am in awe of Chen Aisen.  I definitely do not think he was over-scored in the semis or the finals; if anything, he was underscored.

Edited August 22, 2016 by proserpina65

[blackwing]

Does anyone know who the two commentators on the OBS live stream were?  I went and watched one stream from the very beginning to see if they identified themselves, and they didn't.  They both sounded English.  I loved that pair.  Very insightful and fair.  I liked the woman in particular, especially when a diver failed.  When Ilya Zakharov, defending 3m springboard gold medalist, failed spectacularly with a bellyflop dive, I just love how she said "ohhhhhh, what a shame!"  And then the man chimed in with "what is happening to the Olympic champion"?

Everything sounds better in an English accent!