Platform, Men

This was one of the closest international diving competitions ever. American Gary Tobian led Mexican Joaquín Capilla going into the final dive. They were the two favorites as Tobian was the top American and Capilla had improved at each Olympics on the platform, winning bronze in 1948 and silver in 1952. Capilla’s final dive was a forward 1½ somersault with two twists, and he performed it well to win the gold medal by 0.03 points over Tobian. But the American coaches were unhappy with the judging and protested the scores given to Capilla on the final dive. The protest went nowhere. American Dick Connor won the bronze medal after leading the qualifying round. Tobian would compete again in Rome, repeating his silver medal on the platform but winning the 1960 springboard gold medal. Capilla retired after the 1956 Olympics, completing a superb career that included double gold medals in the springboard and platform at both the 1951 and 1955 Pan American Games.