One big question for Olympic divers is not how they manage such incredible feats of airborne acrobatics but rather how they make such minimal splashes when they hit the water. In the video below, Team USA head diving coach Drew Johansen explains the secrets in the Vox video above.
Another mystery of professional diving is why they use such tiny towels. Turns out, it's because they're tiny. But they aren't just any old cotton towels. Ball State University diving coach Jacob Brehmer explains at CNN:
Staying warm is also one of the reasons swimmers and divers use tiny towels called chamois — pronounced "shammy" — at major events.The towels are portable and extremely water absorbent, allowing the divers to dry off quickly and stay warm, Brehmer says. Remaining dry also means safer — and more competitive — dives."When the divers are flipping through the air, they are grabbing onto their legs and squeezing very tight," he says. "If their legs are wet, then there's a good possibility that … their hands will slip off their legs and they will come out of the dive early — which could result in injury and almost always lower scores."