In 1977, there were 96 public diving facilities in London. By the time of the 2008 Olympic Games, there were just six.

Platform divers hit the water at speeds of about 40 miles per hour.

Men’s diving was first introduced to the Olympics in 1904. Women’s diving followed in 1912.

There are now four medal events in both men’s and women’s diving at the Olympics - 10m platform, 3m springboard, synchronised 10m platform and synchronised 3m platform. The synchronised competitions were added to the Olympic programme in 2000.

Competitors perform a series of dives and are awarded marks out of 10, depending upon their elegance and skill. The points are then adjusted for the degree of difficulty. Seven judges adjudicate in individual competitions, taking into account such components as approach, take-off, execution and entry into the water. Nine judges evaluate synchronised dives, with four assessing the execution of individual dives and five evaluating the synchronisation.

In 1984, Greg Louganis, of the United States, became the first male diver in 56 years to win both the Olympic platform and springboard events, a feat he repeated in 1988. He also won a silver medal in the 1976 platform event at the age of 16, although he did not compete at the 1980 Moscow Games because of the American boycott. In 1988, in Seoul, Louganis hit his head on the springboard in the preliminary competition while attempting a reverse 2.5 somersault in the pike position. He climbed out of the pool unassisted and was back on the board 35 minutes later after having four temporary stitches applied to him. He won the gold medal in the final the following day.

Great Britain have won six Olympic diving medals, though none of them have been gold. In men’s competitions, Harold Clarke claimed bronze in the plain high diving in 1924 (the last time the event featured on the Olympic roster), Brian Phelps won silver in the platform contest of 1960 and Leon Taylor and Peter Waterfield gained silver in the synchronised platform event in Athens in 2004. As for British women, Isabelle White won a platform bronze in 1912 before Eileen Armstrong went one better by claiming silver in the same event eight years later. Elizabeth Ferris was the last British female diver to stand on an Olympic podium, after finishing third in the springboard contest of 1960.

USA have been much the most successful nation in Olympic diving events, having harvested a total of 128 medals - 67 in men’s events and 61 in women’s. China did not win their first Olympic medal until 1984, but have dominated to such an extent since then that they now lie second in the overall table with a haul of 49 medals. They won seven of the eight available gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games.

The youngest Olympic diving champion - and the youngest individual champion in any sport at a summer Olympics - was Marjorie Gestring, an American, who was 13 years and 268 days old when she won the springboard title at the Berlin Games of 1936.

Tom Daley, who celebrated his 14th birthday on 21 May 2008, was Great Britain’s second-youngest male Olympian ever when he competed at the Beijing Games.

Bruce Harlan, the American 1948 men’s springboard Olympic champion, was killed in 1959 when he fell almost 30 feet from scaffolding that he was helping to dismantle after appearing in an exhibition event in Connecticut.