Topics: Olympics, Sport, World News, Science, Health
Diving is often a popular sport in the Olympics, with it's precision and braving the immense height of the diving boards fascinating audiences.
Some who enjoy the diving may have noticed that the competitors will frequently shower between dives.
It turns out that there is actually a very specific reason for them to do this, which is particular to diving.
Advert
An initial guess might be that it's like showering before you get into a public pool, to keep the water clean.
But it can't be that because they also shower after their dive as well.
Perhaps to wash the chlorine in the pool water off them then?
Well, it would make sense to do that once you've finished doing your dives for the day, but competitors will frequently shower between dives, so it's not that either.
So, why is it that divers shower between their dives?
It's not actually to do with cleanliness or hygiene at all, but actually to do with the athlete's performance in the event.
Anyone who has been swimming in an outdoor pool or temperate sea will be familiar with the ordeal of getting out of the water.
A mild breeze that's nothing when you're dry suddenly becomes like an icy gale.
When you're out of the water this temperature fluctuation does have an impact on your muscles.
For us regular mortals, it's mostly nothing to worry about - apart from maybe cramps - but for an Olympian, even the smallest deviation could impact their performance.
And in a sport as precise as diving, this is even more important.
Speaking to CNN at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, United States diving coach Jacob Brehmer explained: “Usually after a diver does a dive, they will have to wait a good amount of time before their next dive.
“The air temperature on the pool deck may be a little chilly, so the shower can help keep muscles warm.
“Diving is such a precise and fast-twitch sport, if the diver gets a little cold and tight, it could really affect their performance.”
So there you go, it's all about making sure that the athletes are in the prime physical condition and their muscles aren't impacted by the chill.
And let's be fair, if the precise angle of one of your limbs as you pirouette through the air from a 10 metre drop could mean the difference between glory and defeat, you'd probably be taking all those showers too.
