An Olympics commentator covering the diving events at Paris 2024 called for judges to ‘do their jobs’ after watching a ‘dangerous’ dive.
I barely have time to hold my breath between leaving the side of the pool and splashing ungracefully into the water, yet athletes competing at the diving events somehow are able to pull off an unbelievable amount of spins in just a couple of seconds.
The competitors appear to slow down time as they perform, and Italy’s Maia Biginelli was among those showing off their skills at the women’s 10m platform semi-final at the Olympics on Monday (5 May).
Maia Biginelli represented Italy at the event. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
The diver challenged herself to a 3.2-difficulty three-and-a-half somersaults inward dive in the tuck position when it came time for her to leave the platform, and in doing so she left viewers fearing for her life.
Commentator Leon Taylor covered the event for the BBC in the UK, and while watching Biginelli he made clear he wasn’t comfortable with what he was seeing.
Spectators couldn’t help but notice how Biginelli, 21, nearly hit her head on the 10m platform as she launched into her dive, prompting Taylor to call out to the judges.
“Judges, you need to do your job now!,” he said on the commentary.
“That is a dangerous, dangerous dive. Her hair hits the diving board.”
Taylor went as far as to claim Biginelli should be ‘massively penalized’ for the dive, continuing: “Her hair pretty much hits the board.”
“What are you watching from your seats?,” Taylor went on. “What are you watching? We’ve got a duty of care in this sport to keep athletes safe. You’ve got to penalize. Coaches, you can see that as well.”
The diver ultimately received a score of 41.60 for her dive, which she watched back on a small screen presented by her coaches.
Biginelli was close to hitting her head on the platform. (X)
Another BBC commentator explained: “They’re showing her the replay now so hopefully she can process that herself because that was frightening to watch.”
Biginelli ultimately didn’t score high enough to make it into the finals of the women’s 10m diving, which took place today (August 6).
In the final, China’s Quan Hongchan won her second consecutive gold medal as she placed first with a total of 425.60 points, followed by her teammate, Chen Yuxi, on 420.70 points.
Kim Mi Rae, of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, won bronze in the event with a score of 372.10 points, marking the team’s first Olympic medal in an individual diving event.
