BEIJING, May 2 (Xinhua) -- In front of a capacity crowd, China claimed all five gold medals on the first day of the World Aquatics Diving World Cup Super Final at the National Aquatic Center here on Friday.
Known for their remarkable 'splash disappearance' techniques, Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi earned the loudest cheers as the duo made their first pair performance since last summer's Paris Olympics, defending their title in the women's 10m platform synchro with a total of 350.88 points.
"We haven't trained together for synchro for over six months. We only teamed up this morning during the warm-up session and found ourselves still well synchronized, particularly on our last dive. However, I need to refine my individual techniques," said 19-year-old Chen.
Quan, 18, acknowledged the increased physical training she had undertaken to overcome growth-related challenges. "I am becoming stronger than before. I hope to find a better way to balance my current weight and height," she remarked.
Olympic champions Chen Yiwen and Chang Yani faced no big challenges in the women's 3m springboard synchro final, finishing with 323.13 points, easily finishing ahead of Australia's Maddison Keeney and Alysha Koloi (297.75) and Britain's Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen (293.31).
Chen Yiwen, a double winner in the women's 3m springboard individual and synchro events at the Paris Olympics, shared her aspirations for the event. "I felt nostalgic competing here many years ago as a rookie, and now I am back as a veteran. We set a target of 340 points for our synchro event, but we've only achieved it once so far. We need to strive for it," she stated.
Despite being beaten into second place, Keeney sounded a positive note over Australia's performance. "It was an incredible atmosphere across today's events, and we performed better than our previous two stops. I believe this serves as a solid preparation for the World Championships in Singapore," she commented.
Zheng Jiuyuan and Hu Yukang, who paired up at the beginning of 2025, maintained their lead throughout six dives, achieving a winning total of 448.65 points in the men's 3m platform synchro, while fellow new pair Cheng Zilong and Zhu Zifeng secured victory in the men's 10m platform synchro with 460.02.
In the mixed team final, Chen Yiwen, Wang Zongyuan, Chen Yuxi and Cheng Zilong demonstrated strong teamwork by clinching the last gold medal of the day with a score of 507.20. Ukraine came second with 423.70, and Mexico took bronze with 411.95.
"We are very grateful to all the fans today. All of us in the mixed team competed in the synchro events earlier, and we performed better with each dive. We will continue to show our best in the individual events," Chen Yuxi expressed.
The head-to-head competition format will debut in the men's 3m springboard and women's 10m platform events on Saturday. Enditem
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