BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- China's Olympic diving champion Quan Hongchan may have answered many questions on her way to stardom, but when asked by a group of local teenagers this time, she responded in both humorous and inspiring fashion.
Quan, along with fellow star divers Chen Yiwen and Wang Zongyuan, attended a Champion Clinic in Beijing on Thursday, just one day before the World Aquatics Diving World Cup Super Final opens at China's National Aquatic Center, also known as the Water Cube.
Holding up signboards with the words "Future Champions," "Thumbs Up," and "Make Your Dream Come True," the teenagers asked a variety of questions - "How did you overcome fatigue?" "Have you ever thought about quitting when you were young?" and "What did you do after a bad dive?"
"To be honest, I want to quit right away now," Quan joked. "I feel fatigue and tired most of the time, but I must strive for the path that I chose myself and put in all my efforts. I hope you will do the same."
Quan started diving at the age of seven. She joined the Guangdong provincial team four years later in 2018 and was selected for China's national team at the end of 2020. Quan rose to fame at the Tokyo Olympic Games after winning gold in the women's 10m platform with a record-high 466.20 points as a 14-year-old. She retained her title at Paris 2024, overcoming the challenges of her own growing pains and intense competition with her synchro partner and close friend Chen Yuxi.
"How lucky you are! When I was young, I did not have this kind of opportunity to meet and learn from the champions. I did not dare to talk with or stare at those older champions at that time," Quan recalled of her early days in diving.
Among the group of children, 10 are diving starters from Beijing Muxiyuan Sports School, while the rest are primary school students. They received guidance from the three professionals on warm-up exercises, basic dry-land techniques and diving skills.
"Quan is my idol. I watched all her competitions during the Paris Olympics on TV. Diving is sometimes full of fun, but is boring and painful most of the time. But I hope I can stand on top of the podium like Quan," said eight-year-old Su Guo, who took up diving two years ago.
Wang, who clinched gold in the men's 3m springboard synchro events at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, enjoyed his role as a coach. "We need to build up a good habit of diving techniques from the very beginning. It takes you years and years to strengthen the basic skills. Now we still need to do those exercises and basic training every day," he told the children.
Chen Yiwen, Olympic champion in the women's 3m springboard individual and synchro events at Paris 2024, spoke of the need to manage and guard against joint injuries.
"As springboard divers, we have to jump all the time, whether it's on dry land or the springboard. As a result, we experience pain in our knees, so we need to better protect ourselves from incorrect techniques to avoid injuries," she said.
Four synchro finals and the mixed team final are scheduled for Friday. Enditem
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