“How do you overcome fatigue?” “Did you ever think about quitting when you were young?” “What did you do after a bad dive?” These were just some of the thoughtful questions aspiring elite divers posed to World and Olympic champions-turned-coaches at the Nongfu Spring Future Champions diving clinic.
Holding up signboards that read “Future Champions,” “Thumbs Up,” and “Make Your Dream Come True,” a group of local teens eagerly peppered Chinese diving stars Quan Hongchan, Chen Yiwen, and Wang Zongyuan with questions during the Nongfu Spring Future Champions Clinic on Thursday—just one day before the World Aquatics Diving World Cup – Super Final at the iconic Water Cube in Beijing (2–4 May).
"To be honest, I want to quit right away even now, " joked the 18-year-old Quan. "I feel fatigue and tired most of the time, but you must strive for the path chosen by yourself, and put in all your efforts."
Born in March 2007, Quan started diving at age of seven and entered the Guangdong province team four years later in 2018 and then went to national team at the end of 2020. Quan rose to fame at the Tokyo Olympic Games after winning the gold medal in the women's 10m platform and achieved a record-high 466.20 points as a 14-year-old rookie. She retained her title at Paris 2024, overcoming the hardship from her own growth periods and intense competition with her synchro partner and close friend Chen Yuxi.
"How lucky they 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 or stare at those elder champions at that time," Quan recalled about her early years in diving.
The champions taught the kids warm-up exercise, basic dry-land skills, and diving skills. Ten of the kids are diving starters from Beijing Muxiyuan Sports School, and the rest are common primary school students.
"Quan is my idol. I watched her competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games from TV. Diving is full of fun sometimes but is boring and painful most of the time. However, I hope I can stand on the top of the podium, just like Quan," said the eight-year-old girl Su Guo, who learned diving for about two years.
Wang Zongyuan, men's 3m springboard synchro champions in Tokyo and Paris, enjoyed his new role of being a coach. "We need to build up a good habit of diving techniques from the very beginning. It is very important and takes years to strengthen the basic skills, for myself we need to do those exercises and basic training every day until now," Wang said to the kids.
Chen Yiwen, champion in women's 3m springboard individual and synchro at Paris Olympic Games, answered a question that she felt pain in her knees.
"As a springboard diver, we have to jump on the springboard all the time, whether on dry land or the springboard. As a result, we have knee pain. So, we need to protect ourselves better from wrong techniques and pay more attention to our body," Chen said.
The World Aquatics Diving World Cup – Super Final will start on 2 May with four synchro finals and the mixed team final.