Staring down at that distant postage stamp of surf, they have to time their jump to catch an incoming wave.
As leisure time grew in Europe and North America through the 19th century, people could not resist the urge to make a splash and waterfalls, bridges and piers were used as improvised platforms.
In a recent interview on the Olympic Channel podcast, she reveals that she could not even swim when she starting taking diving lessons and that her coach would stand by in the water to catch her after every jump.