“How Things Have Changed Over 108 Years”: Apart From Swimming, This Olympic Sport’s Progress Has Left Fans Shell-Shocked

Change is the only constant. Many things that seem so natural today were mere figments of imagination just 20-30 years ago. However, to think that these advancements are limited just to the fancy gadgets we use would be very wrong. Our minds and bodies have also achieved a lot of excellence in the last few decades, especially in the world of sports. Winning just one Olympic medal was considered a matter of prestige, but now we have athletes who single-handedly sweep an entire sporting event clean of all the gold medals it has to offer.

The sport of diving, in particular, has evolved considerably. If we compare things between today and a hundred years ago, we will clearly see a lot of significant differences between where we were once and where we have reached now. And guess what? The official YouTube channel of the Olympics did just that, and the people were astonished by what they saw.

Stockholm Olympics, 1912 vs. Tokyo Olympics, 2020

The video draws a comparison between female divers from the Stockholm Olympics of 1912 and the female divers who participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The first difference you see before the divers even launch themselves from the diving board is the physical appearance of the divers: the divers of today have more streamlined bodies than the ones a century ago. Following this, the next thing which is clearly visible is the technique. While divers a century ago simply dived, the divers of today showcase a powerful acrobatic display before slicing through the water in the pool.

While you can easily picture the divers of 1912 as the opening or transition sequence of a Hollywood movie, the same isn’t true for the current divers. Moreover, the objective before was simple: execute a perfect dive.

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However, today’s divers are more diverse in both technique and execution, while the performances of 1912 didn’t look very different from each other. Expressing his amazement, a fan commented, “How things have changed over 108 years.” 

The Reaction of Fans to the Mammoth Comparison

The comparison showcased by the official Olympics YouTube channel generated a lot of different reactions from the public. One fan got emotional seeing the video and said, “I’ve almost cried , a lovely story/interpretation of the infinity thank youn guys!” One of the people also commented on the apparent difference in technique and execution and aptly commented, “Amazing to see how the times have changed We evolved so much on par with the sport.” 

One of the comments made a satirical remark saying, “Now they can backflip, frontflip, vote…” Do you like to dive from a diving board or the poolside? What are the thoughts that filled your mind when you saw this video? 

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