• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Olympic commentator terrified of diver's 'dangerous' dive orders judges to intervene

Home> News> Sport

Published 17:29 6 Aug 2024 GMT+1

Olympic commentator terrified of diver's 'dangerous' dive orders judges to intervene

Maia Biginelli was representing Italy in the dive which sparked concerns

Emily Brown

Emily Brown

An Olympics commentator covering the diving events at Paris 2024 called for judges to 'do their jobs' after watching a 'dangerous' dive.

I barely have time to hold my breath between leaving the side of the pool and splashing ungracefully into the water, yet athletes competing at the diving events somehow are able to pull off an unbelievable amount of spins in just a couple of seconds.

The competitors appear to slow down time as they perform, and Italy's Maia Biginelli was among those showing off their skills at the women's 10m platform semi-final at the Olympics on Monday (5 May).

Maia Biginelli represented Italy at the event. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Maia Biginelli represented Italy at the event. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Advert

The diver challenged herself to a 3.2-difficulty three-and-a-half somersaults inward dive in the tuck position when it came time for her to leave the platform, and in doing so she left viewers fearing for her life.

Commentator Leon Taylor covered the event for the BBC in the UK, and while watching Biginelli he made clear he wasn't comfortable with what he was seeing.

Spectators couldn't help but notice how Biginelli, 21, nearly hit her head on the 10m platform as she launched into her dive, prompting Taylor to call out to the judges.

"Judges, you need to do your job now!," he said on the commentary.

"That is a dangerous, dangerous dive. Her hair hits the diving board."

Advert

Taylor went as far as to claim Biginelli should be 'massively penalized' for the dive, continuing: "Her hair pretty much hits the board."

"What are you watching from your seats?," Taylor went on. "What are you watching? We’ve got a duty of care in this sport to keep athletes safe. You’ve got to penalize. Coaches, you can see that as well."

The diver ultimately received a score of 41.60 for her dive, which she watched back on a small screen presented by her coaches.

Biginelli was close to hitting her head on the platform. (X)
Biginelli was close to hitting her head on the platform. (X)

Advert

Another BBC commentator explained: "They’re showing her the replay now so hopefully she can process that herself because that was frightening to watch."

Biginelli ultimately didn't score high enough to make it into the finals of the women's 10m diving, which took place today (August 6).

In the final, China's Quan Hongchan won her second consecutive gold medal as she placed first with a total of 425.60 points, followed by her teammate, Chen Yuxi, on 420.70 points.

Kim Mi Rae, of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, won bronze in the event with a score of 372.10 points, marking the team's first Olympic medal in an individual diving event.

Featured Image Credit: OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images

Topics: Olympics, BBC, Sport

Emily Brown
Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
3 hours ago
7 hours ago
8 hours ago
  • Samuel Corum/Getty Images/ODU English Department/Facebook
    an hour ago

    Trump issues statement directly to Renee Nicole Good's father amid controversial comments on her fatal ICE shooting

    Trump's administration previously called her a 'domestic terrorist'

    News
  • Bruce Glikas/Getty Images
    3 hours ago

    Melissa Gilbert ‘stands with’ husband Timothy Busfield after he surrenders himself to police over child sex abuse claims

    Reps for the actress said she is 'supporting' her husband following his arrest on child sex abuse charges

    Celebrity
  • Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
    7 hours ago

    Donald Trump ‘flips off’ Ford plant employee after being dubbed a ‘pedophile protector’

    The unusual outburst was even defended by the White House as an 'appropriate' response to a heckling critic

    News
  • Giovanni Rufino via Getty Images
    8 hours ago

    West Wing star Timothy Busfield surrenders to police but insists he is innocent of child sex abuse charges

    Busfield faces two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse

    Celebrity
  • Everything we know as guard suddenly dies at Winter Olympic Games site in freezing temperatures
  • Over 100 Olympic athletes return medals after making serious complaint
  • Double Olympic gold medalist dies aged 31 in tragic mountaineering accident
  • Jake Paul says his ‘heart is broken’ after his fiancée suffers Olympic trial setback