China’s Chen Yiwen scored a four-peat with new partner Chen Jia in women’s 3m synchro, but the story of the day was Lia and Mia Cueva Lobato of Mexico who were too young to compete at the junior world championships just eight months ago, yet took bronze at 14.
SINGAPORE – On Tuesday, in women’s 3m synchro – Chen Yiwen, 26, of China and her new partner Chen Jia, 20, had no problem extending China’s 24-year-winning streak in this event at the world championships. They led after each round and were the only team to exceed 300 points, reaching 325.20 after all five rounds. The gold was China’s sixth in seven diving events so far in Singapore.
“I think it’s been a smooth competition for us,” Chen Yiwen said afterwards. “We were quite nervous during training, and were a bit tight. We were a little conservative. I guess you can say we’re quite a good partnership.”
Chen Jia added nonchalantly, “Overall, we did okay, just some stuff we need to improve on in the details.”
Great Britain’s 2024 Olympic bronze medalists Yasmin Harper, 25, and Scarlett Mew Jensen, 23, claimed their third medal in a row at the world championships, matching their silver from 2023. The Brits finished 26.85 points behind China.
But the bronze medalists, Lia and Mia Cueva Lobato – just 14 years old – gave Mexico its third medal in this event, and its first since 2019. The crazy thing is that the twins were too young to compete at the Junior World Championships in Rio last November, as they were only 13. Now 14, they demonstrated world class poise and consistency. They never dropped lower than third place among the eight teams in the final, and finished just 3.99 points behind the British silver medalists and 9.18 points ahead of Australia’s fourth-place divers: 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Maddison Keeney and her new partner Alysha Koloi, the 2024 world champion on 1m.
“I’m so excited,” Lia said. “I’m in shock and I’m so happy. I was so nervous, but it’s a dream.”
“Our parents are here and we were very excited,” Mia said. “I'm so happy to be representing Mexico” and a teammate of Olympic and world medalist Osmar Olvera Ibarra, whom she called “a great friend, an example and inspiration [for us].”
Up Next:
Next on Tuesday, Cheng Zilong and Zhu Zifeng will try to keep China’s winning streak alive in the men’s 10m synchro final. If they succeed, it would give China seven gold medals in a row, dating back to 2015.