Ah, the Olympics. A season where people all over the world come together to celebrate athleticism and sportsmanship, or to just criticize. Sports like gymnastics and swimming have always been popular but upcoming sports like diving are now too making headlines. Some for the right reasons and others for the not. Good news: Steele Johnson and David Boudia were the first to end the United States' diving medal drought with a silver medal in the men's synchronized 10m platform diving. Just two days after, USA's Michael Hixon and Sam Dorman continued the streak with silver medals in the men's synchronized 3m springboard diving. Bad news: not everyone competing has been so lucky. The failures of these world class athletes have been and still are spreading like wildfire across the internet. 
The world wide web dove into criticism for Malaysian diver Ahmad Amsyar Azman after a nearly failed forward 2.5 somersault 3 twist dive. From Tweets to new articles, people were ready to call him out for his slip. Comments ranged from what a way to get a free trip to Rio to best belly flop at the Olympics. Business Insider wrote, "Malaysian diver Ahmad Amsyar Azman did not receive a zero for what turned out to be one of the worst dives of the Olympics, but he maybe should have." Okay. If you watch the video, it isn't THAT bad. While it wasn't the perfect vertical, little splash dive, he did manage to save it and completed the dive. What people don't realize is the degree of difficulty that goes into those few seconds on the board, in the air and into the water. The article finishes with "apparently in Olympic diving, a belly flop will still give you some points." Wow. Ouch.
So why all the harshness at the Olympics? Because these are supposed to be the best divers in all the world? Well yes. But just because you're on the top, doesn't mean you're are perfect. Champions fail everyday. NBC released an article titled " Olympic Flops: Rio's Worst Dives" highlighted the failed dives of the Rio Olympics. Besides recaps of the flops, the article also reminded everyone of how these fails can change a life. "Illya Zakharov, the reigning three-meter Olympic champion, belly flopped in the semi-finals Tuesday, reminding everyone that even the best in the world can feel the pain of a flop." The Russian diver went from 1st place to last in a matter of 15 seconds, dramatically ending her Olympic career just because she slipped in her footing on the board.
Flops. Smacks. Failed Dives. Whatever you call them, divers across the world can sympathize with these divers as they too can remember a time they did the same. Yet, if you're not a diver, you're probably like "WTF is a smack." Ever done a belly or back flop? That's basically what that is. But divers don't do these on purpose, most of the time they lose control of the dive or "get lost in the air." Trust me. No one ever wants to hit their back after falling meters from the sky at speeds of up to 35mph. But for those who do, the best thing is to get right back up on that board, smile and take control!
