Introducing Oslo's Death Diving Competition

One event that you won't find at the Rio Olympics: dødsing, bellyflopping with a Norwegian twist. Dating back to the 1960s, the activity continues to be practiced in Norway today, including at the recent World Bellyflop Championship captured in the clip below.

The sport—which can be translated as "death diving"—began with kids in working-class eastern Oslo who wanted to rebel against the posh culture of the western side of the city, according to a redditor named Phunkstar who is featured in the clip. "Dødsing was a massive middle finger from the east side boys to show that they could do daring stuff as well, and much cooler," he said. And what began as doing stunts on cliffs evolved over time to events that are now regulated and judged, like the one seen below.

"It's not a bellyflop competition," aMagnu, another redditor, wrote. In fact, death divers attempt to avoid landing on their stomachs, instead tucking their bodies in at the last seconds of the fall.

"The contestants are scored based on style and how long they wait before tucking in," aMagnu said. "I'm pretty sure a full-blown bellyflop from that height (10m) is potentially very harmfull [sic]. As the name implies it's about narrowly avoiding death."

[h/t Gizmodo]

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