For nine days at the OCBC Aquatics Centre in Singapore, some of the best and most decorated divers in the world will vie for 13 world titles in diving on the 1m and 3m springboards and the 10m platform. The action will begin on 26 July (with the team event and women’s 1m finals) and conclude with the always-dramatic men’s 10m finale on 3 August.

Several athletes will be trying to keep their nations’ winning streaks alive while others will be determined to break through China’s consistency and excellence.  

Here’s a quick glance back and a look forward at the storylines from the lowest board to the highest.

In men’s 1m springboard, China pieced together nine consecutive victories (from 2007-2023) until one of Mexico’s brightest prospects, Osmar Olvera Ibarra, snapped the streak in Doha 2024. Now a two-time Olympic medalist, the 21-year-old Olvera will attempt to defend his world title in Singapore.

Last year on the women’s 1m springboard, Alysha Koloi produced Australia’s only individual diving gold medal at the Doha world championships but she wasn’t immediately aware of the result. “I didn’t think it was real,” she said. “It was very much a pinch-me moment.” The 23-year-old from Brisbane, however, won’t be defending gold in this non-Olympic discipline. Instead, the 2017 world champion Maddison Keeney, 29, will give it a go for Australia.

In men’s 3m springboard, China will attempt an 11-peat while Wang Zongyuan will aim for his 4th consecutive world title on 3m at age 23. But it’s worth noting that Olvera earned the 2023 silver and 2024 bronze medals in this event and is only getting stronger.

In women’s 3m, China is so dominant that its divers seized gold in the last 13 editions of the world championships, dating back to 2001. The extraordinary run began with the great Guo Jingjing who won five gold medals in a row. Later, Shi Tingmao added a three-peat of her own. Chen Yiwen won the next two titles before her teammate Chang Yani defeated her by 18.15 points in Doha 2024, where they still finished 1-2. The defending champion Chang, however, did not make China’s roster for Singapore.  

In the men’s 10m platform, China’s reign has been a bit looser so a new star may shine, just as Cassiel Rousseau did when he captured gold in a massive upset in 2023 Fukuoka. Now 24, Rousseau remains a fan favorite for his distinctive, powerful style. Another strong contender is the 2024 world bronze medalist Oleksii Sereda. In May, the Ukrainian prodigy won the European championship title on 10m. At 19, Sereda has already had an eventful career: at 14, he made his Olympic debut (placing sixth on 10m) and, at 16, claimed his first world medal. Notably absent will be China’s defending champion Yang Hao, 27, who had stood on the podium in this event at the last four editions of the world championships.

In women’s 10m, for the first time in years, there will be no entertaining battle between China’s triple world champion and 2024 runner-up Chen Yuxi, 20, and her 18-year-old teammate Quan Hongchan who, last year, finally overtook the elder Chen (after taking silvers in 2022 and 2023) then went on to win back-to-back Olympic gold in Paris six months later.  Quan is also absent from China’s roster; she did not compete at nationals. Fifteen-year-old Xie Peiling will compete instead.

In the synchro events, China remains absolutely formidable. Chinese divers have won 12 of the 14 gold medals in men’s 3m synchro since the event made its debut at the 1998 world championships in Perth, Australia. In men’s 10m synchro, Chinese divers have won 11 of 14 titles ever awarded, including the last six. If that sounds somewhat impossible, consider this: China’s female synchro pairs have been even more dominant than that. In women’s 3m synchro AND 10m synchro, China has won every gold except the first one awarded in both events. That’s 26 of the 28 gold medals ever awarded to female pairs at worlds.

In the newer disciplines of mixed synchro and mixed team (added in 2015), China has won all six world titles in mixed 10m synchro, but in mixed 3m synchro Australia managed to capture two of the six gold medals. It should be mentioned that China doesn’t always enter mixed events, since there are none contested at the Olympics. In 2024, in its absence, Great Britain, Mexico, and Australia finished 1-2-3 in the team event where the big story was Tom Daley who had come out of retirement one year earlier and was en route to his fifth Olympics, in Paris, where he captured a silver in men’s 10m synchro at age 30. This year, however, Great Britain didn’t submit a mixed team entry. Tune in on day one to see who will claim the first gold in Singapore.