Karis Way

Random thoughts from Eagan, Minn.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Mystery of the showering divers

At the Bejing Olympics, after completing a dive, competitors swim to a ladder, climb out of the pool and head immediately to a bank of showers adjacent to the diving boards. Then, in full view of the crowd and NBC cameras, they shower off. Divers keep their suits on, of course, usually appearing only to rinse off their hair and arms. Oftentimes, the divers will receive their scores while still showering off. What's the purpose of this?

Theories have ranged from to get the chlorine off to "they want to have fun," a direct quote from NBC's diving analyst, Cynthia Potter. Neither is the reason.

Divers shower in between each dive to keep their muscles warm after getting out of the pool. The temperatures of the pool water and the air are usually different. The pool is usually around 80 degrees, with the air temperature between 68 and 72 degrees. This difference can cause muscle tightness. To combat this, divers warm up in either the showers or a hot tub.

Mystery solved. But why are the showers are out in the open? The water cube cost more than $200 million to build. Couldn't a privacy wall have been put in?

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