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Anonymous
I also watched the diving and a few things struck me.
1. The top divers didn't just have some good dives, they had all good dives. All great dives in fact. Consistency seems key in judged sports - it's one thing to make an amazing move or play once in a while, but if you can do it every time, that's how you win.
2. I don't know 100% how dives are judged, but what I gathered was they only keep three of the seven scores (eliminating the two highest and the two lowest), add them up, and multiply by the degree of difficulty. If that's the case, then more difficult dives shouldn't be rewarded with higher marks from the judges automatically unless they are performed just as well as easier dives. But that seemed to be the case anyway. Guo would pull off a tough dive pretty well and get 9.5s (even a 10), despite it being good but obviously not perfect. Then that Russian woman would do what appeared to be an equally well-executed dive and get 8.5s. However...
3. As spectators, I think we tend to overemphasize the really obvious signs like gymnasts sticking their landings or divers making the smallest possible splash. There are so many factors at play during the actual dive (or gymnastics routine) that it's hard to be an armchair judge unless you really know what you're doing. Making a splash or taking a step on a landing is often an indicator of poor form, but not necessarily so.
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