Springboard, Men

Greg Louganis was the overwhelming favorite. He had won the 1982 World Championships and 1983 Pan American Games, been second at the 1978 Worlds, and only the 1980 US boycott had kept him from gold in Moscow. He had last been beaten on springboard at the 1981 US Sports Festival by David Burgering. He came into Los Angeles with the all-time high score on springboard of 755.49, which he had done at the 1983 USA International. He just missed that in Los Angeles, scoring 754.41 for the second-highest score ever as he won in a Secretariat-like victory by 92.10 points.

The silver medal went to China’s Tan Liangde. A springboard specialist, this would be his first of three consecutive Olympic silver medals in the event. The first great male Chinese diver, he was unfortunate in that he had to compete in the Louganis era. Louganis would return to defend his gold medal in Seoul, under much more dramatic circumstances.