CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- On the afternoon of Aug. 1, Chongqing girl Shi Tingmao defended her gold medal with 383.50 points in the women’s single 3-meter springboard diving final at the Tokyo Olympics. Her double-diving partner Wang Han won the silver medal with 348.75 points. 

For women’s 3-meter springboard diving, the “Dream Team” never lost any gold medal

After Shi Tingmao defended her gold metal, the Chinese diving “Dream Team” has achieved 9 consecutive championships for the women’s single 3-meter springboard at the Olympics! Since the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the “Queen of Diving” Gao Min won the women’s single 3-meter springboard gold metal, the Chinese diving team has never lost any gold medal of diving, Fu Mingxia, Guo Jingjing and Wu Minxia have created their own era. Now, Shi Tingmao won her double-diving partner Wang Han to take the gold medal, which is also her fourth Olympic gold medal.

Shi Tingmao’s family were watching the women’s double 3-meter springboard final.

“The battle between the besties” Shi Tingmao wins in the final

At the Tokyo Olympics women’s single 3-meter springboard diving final, Shi Tingmao and Wang Han’s match on the same game is the biggest attraction. In the double event, they are close teammates, and in the single competition, they are the most familiar opponents of each other.

For Shi Tingmao, she hopes to defend her gold medal; while Wang Han, who is participating in the Olympics for the first time, hopes to get her first Olympic single gold medal. After the start of the competition, Shi Tingmao performed steadily, showing absolute dominance and eventually won the gold medal. The 30-year-old Wang Han is a veteran of the Chinese diving team, and is also the first time to step on the Olympic field as a “newcomer”. Wang Han said after winning gold in the double 3-meter springboard, “I cherish the process before I got the Olympic gold medal, so that my life is more exciting, I have tasted everything.” With 1 gold and 1 silver to end the journey to the Tokyo Olympics, Wang Han has no regrets for it.

Shi Tingmao creates a legend by breaking out of adversity and surpassing herself

On the road to the Tokyo Olympics, Shi Tingmao was also in a slump. In 2019, she lost to her teammate Wang Han in the Beijing round of the World Diving Series, bringing an abrupt end to her multi-year winning streak. And the subsequent competition in Montreal, she again succumbed to the runner-up, coupled with the impact of foreign players and injuries, Shi Tingmao’s state is worrying. Shi Tingmao said, although she wanted to get to the next prime time, perhaps she deserved to fall to the bottom.

Under the influence of the epidemic, the preparation cycle for the Tokyo Olympics is longer than ever, and as a veteran, Shi Tingmao has endured more pressure and challenges than others. But she broke all the doubts and worries with her actual actions. In the final of the women’s double 3-meter springboard diving on July 25, Shi Tingmao partnered with Wang Han to successfully win the gold with a total score of 326.40; in the women's single 3-meter springboard on August 1, Shi Tingmao successfully defended her gold medal with 383.50 points, and the gold medal is destined to go down in history. As a result, Shi Tingmao also became the fourth athlete to defend the gold metal of the Chinese diving team, alongside Gao Min, Fu Mingxia and Guo Jingjing.

From Gao Min, Fu Mingxia, to Guo Jingjing, Wu Minxia, and now Shi Tingmao, their elegant jump, beautiful tumbling, light into the water, all leave a deep impression on the outside world. Now, with the successful defense of the Olympic championship, Shi Tingmao has written a new legend! (Translated by Wang Junli, Fathom Language Limited)