The real reason why Olympic divers take a shower after each dive has been revealed.
On Friday night, the 2024 Olympic Games will officially begin with a star-studded opening ceremony in Paris, France.
Normally, the ceremony is held inside a stadium but this time, it will be held along the River Seine at the heart of the city.
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Diving is set to be one of many events where Team GB will hope to win multiple medals.
The likes of Tom Daley, Noah Williams, Jack Laugher, Grace Reid, Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson are among the Team GB diving team looking to bring home the medals.
Ahead of the competition, it has been explained why divers take a shower after each dive during the event.
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Although many thought it was to wash off the chlorine, the main reason has nothing to do with that.
According to health experts, taking a shower after each dive can prevent muscle cramps and injuries.
Back in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, United States diving coach Jacob Brehmer said to CNN: “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.”
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He added: “Diving is such a precise and fast-twitch sport, if the diver gets a little cold and tight, it could really affect their performance.”
Daley, who will be one of the flag bearers for the opening ceremony, is heading into the 2024 Olympics as the defending champion after he won gold in Tokyo in the men’s synchronised 10-metre platform.
Speaking about his title defence, Daley said: “The synchro events are straight finals and it comes down to six dives.
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“Who can do the best six dives in 45 minutes? We’ll find out - it's quite intense. The Chinese diving team is the strongest diving nation, unquestionably.”
He added: “On paper you would probably consider them to win every single event, but it's the Olympic Games and I know that every single one of the Chinese divers knows that it's their competitions to lose, which brings a lot of pressure. The rest of the world is very much on China's heels to be ready to challenge them.
“It's a challenge for the rest of the world: if anyone is able to break the set of eight gold medals. Last time, me and Matty took away one of their gold medals and the time before that, GB also took it away. It's possible; it's always going to be tough but diving is such an on the day sport.”
Topics: Olympics
Marcus Chan