PHYSICS PLUNGE

Greg Louganis' Physics Crown

Greg Louganis  jumping from the spring board exhibits somersaults in
air before touching the water surface. After leaving the spring board, he curls his body by rolling the arms and the legs inwards. Due to this, his moment of inertia decreases and he spins in mid air with large angular
speeds. As he is about to touch the water surface, he stretches out his
limbs. This increases his moment of inertia and he enters the water surface at a gentle speed.

Thus by using simple physics he could make the somersault possible despite having extremely deep injury over his head and shoulder.

In 1988, Greg Louganis of the united states, arguably the greatest Olympic diver in the history, cracked his head on the springboard while attempting a reverse 2.5 pike. After receiving stitches, Louganis won the gold medal in diving.


CONCLUSION : A diver performs somersaults by jumping from a high diving board keeping his legs and arms out stretched first and then curling his body so as to increase the angular speed.