These Pictures Prove Olympic Diving Is Officially The World’s Most Intense Sport

Every four years we sit and watch as divers curl their toes over the diving board then launch themselves into the air, twisting and turning in a vortex of highly-skilled limbs. It’s an enjoyable thing to see, this superheroic Olympic diving. Some of us wouldn’t even want to pinch our nostrils and hop off the 10m platform, but these athletes soar through the air then land perfectly in the water with barely a splash.

The gracefulness of the sport, and more specifically the camera angles, shield us from the harsh reality of diving — these people are working extremely hard. They’re contortionists, doing things few others can do, and doing it better than most can even fathom. However, we never see them working so hard. We’re too focused on the overall performance, and not the struggle. These people are pushing themselves as hard as they can, and the only way we can truly appreciate that is through moments in time.

We take the fact that these divers are curling their toes at a specific point for granted. They are curling their toes a few seconds into their dive at the exact correct time while simultaneously flipping forward so fast their faces are being blown back like they’re on a rollercoaster.

It’s just the most impressive sh*t.

Imagine being tasked with flipping as fast and as hard as you can off a 30-foot-tall platform while being judged on how well you land head first.

The concentration…

They have mere seconds to be perfect.

Divers look like they could be participating in the world’s most intense cannonball competition. If only it were that simple.

Two people, perfectly in synch, flying through the air. No big deal.

They’re blurs. This shouldn’t be possible.

Humans are really impressive.