Olympic Diving Is Even More Impressive When You Learn How Deep the Pool Is

As a former competitive swimmer, I live for the Summer Olympics. While I could probably recite the medal counts of icons Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, and Katie Ledecky backwards and forwards, diving has always been the event that takes my breath away. The accuracy, consistency, grace, and skill that goes into Olympic diving is truly next level. Whether you’re a diving fan like me, or just watching the Paris Olympics for fun, you may have a few questions during the Games. Things like: “How high are those diving boards?” or “How deep is that pool, anyway?”

Diving really is an astonishingly difficult sport, and it’s not always easy to see exactly how high these athletes are jumping, and how deep the pool truly is. To help put things into perspective, here’s what to know about the dimensions of Olympic diving.

How Deep Is the Olympic Diving Pool?

At the Olympics, you’ll see divers compete in either springboard or platform diving. You’ll know it’s springboard diving by the way an athlete literally springs into the air, the same way you did at the pool as a kid (. . . minus the flips and spins). The International Federation of Aquatic Sports (FINA) requires that all platform diving take place from a platform 10 meters above ground, whereas springboard divers compete on boards at one and three meters. To help give you a better picture, 10 meters is the equivalent of 32 feet — or the height of two giraffes. Needless to say, the pool has to be deep in order for a drop like that to be done safely.

Because springboard and platform diving take place in the same pool, the country hosting the Olympics must abide by FINA’s recommended minimum depth for 10-meter platform diving, which is five meters (16 feet) deep. For reference, an average high school or community pool is around eight feet deep, assuming that it isn’t set up for competitive diving. At the Paris Olympics, diving events take place at the Aquatics Centre, which was the only permanent sports facility built for the Games. It includes two different sized pools — 25 and 50 meters long.

Is This Different From the Olympic Swimming Pool?

The Olympic swimming pool typically differs from the diving pool. Here, the minimum depth is only two meters (6.5 feet), which is three meters (about 10 feet) less than the requirements for a diving pool. According to The Sporting News, the swimming pool at the Paris Olympics is an estimated 2-3 meters deep (6.5-9.8 feet).

Emily Weaver is an entertainment and lifestyle contributor for PS. Her writing focuses on celebrity relationships, movie and book news, and product shopping guides. Her bylines include PEOPLE, Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens, HelloGiggles, Scary Mommy, and more.

Chandler Plante is an assistant editor for PS Health & Fitness. Previously, she worked as an editorial assistant for People magazine and contributed to Ladygunn, Millie, and Bustle Digital Group. In her free time, she overshares on the internet, creating content about chronic illness, beauty, and disability.