Chinese diver Quan Hongchan used the Tokyo Olympics’ one year delay to train harder, and since the delay allowed her to age another year, 14, she now qualified for her chosen sport.

HongChan is now China’s newest diving sensation after winning gold in the women’s 10-meter dive. She is the youngest athlete among China’s representatives in Tokyo.

Quan gave China its 33rd gold meal by delivering three perfect-10 dives while achieving a record-breaking total score of 466.20.

She was born on March 28, 2007, in Zhenjiang, Guangdong. Quan became the second-youngest Chinese gold medalist in diving.

Fu Mingxia won the 10m platform gold at the 1992 Barcelona Games when she was 13. HongChan now shares that same honor by becoming the second youngest Chinese gold medalist.

Quan became famous in China after beating other divers in the Olympic trials, sealing her trip to Tokyo. And it hasn’t even been a year. She is that good.

An NBC broadcaster had this to say during Quan’s moment,

“Remember this! You may never see anything like it again.”

Really impressive. Most adults are still terrified of jumping in.

Quan was seven when she decided to take diving seriously. She began attending the Zhanjiang Sports School where she would train for three to four hours and practice 400 dives every single day.

“It seems there is no difference between the Olympics and national competitions. My coach told me to relax and don’t be nervous before the Games.”

She says to reporters.

Quan did not enjoy going to school. In fact, she had poor grades. But show her a diving board and watch this young lady excel. It was her means of escape. A reason she got into the sport.

Quan’s amazing dives on Thursday proved to everyone watching that practice really makes perfect. There were barely any ripples on the water’s surface during her five dives. Spectators were stunned.

She gave credit to her parents as well. saying,

“They said it doesn’t matter if I get a medal or not. Just be myself. Those words really helped me.”

Quan has four siblings. Both her parents are farmers but her mom had a car accident in 2017, breaking her ribs and causing the family to spend a lot of money. The family comes from a simple, rural background.

“My mum is ill. I don’t know what illness she has got. I just want to make money to get her medical treatment because my family needs a lot of money to cure her illness.”

She said.

A cosmetics company was really impressed with Quan’s performance. They volunteered to shoulder her mom’s medical expenses.

How does she plan on celebrating? Quan is looking forward to eating spicy stick Latiao. It’s a popular local snack in China made of wheat flour and chili. Her mom previously told Chinese state-run outlet Xinhua that Quan wants to open a shop of her own.

China has won gold for women’s diving events since 2008. The way things are going, it looks like there’s more on the way from the sensational Quan Hongchan. Let’s see that snack shop open!

Marvel at Quan’s diving skills in the video below.

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Source: My Positive Outlooks