FUKUOKA, Japan, July 19 (Xinhua) — China’s Chen Yuxi shocked Olympic champion Quan Hongchan on Wednesday to become the first diver to win the women’s 10-meter platform title at three consecutive world championships.
The 17-year-old Chen and 16-year-old Quan, who retained their synchronized title at the World Aquatics Championships here on Sunday, showed that they are in a league of their own with some nearly flawless moves.
Chen led from the start to finish, scoring a total of 457.85 points. Quan, who beat Chen in the two qualifying rounds on Tuesday, got a set of 10s in round four, but some small errors in the first two rounds proved too costly. She finished second in 445.60 points.
Quan, a superstar in China after her magic victory at the Olympic Games, was disappointed by the mistakes.
“I would give myself a 6 out of 10,” she said. “I am not satisfied with my performance. There were some small errors. I failed to control the splash well in the second dive.”
Canada’s Caeli McKay took bronze with 340.25, 117.60 points behind the winner.
“It has been my target to win the world championship three times in a row,” Chen said. “There has been a lot of pressure, but I managed it well.”
Women’s platform has become a tale of these two Chinese teenagers since Quan produced a victory at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Chen came to the Tokyo Olympics as the 2019 world champion but Quan, who was then only 14, rose to the occasion, getting the better of her teammate with a new world record of 466.20 points for the Olympic gold.
In last year’s Budapest worlds, Chen avenged her defeat, edging Quan by 0.3 points to win the gold for the second time. She said that they have made the competition inside the team “very healthy”.
“We encourage each other in daily training. We want each other to improve,” she said. “I am lucky to have such a teammate and partner.”
The victory will definitely give Chen more confidence in her preparation for the Paris Olympics.
“Now (I have) higher goals. (There are) bigger dreams waiting for me to pursue,” said Chen.