Photo: VCG

Chinese divers swept all four gold medals on offer on Sunday during the first stop of the 2024 World Aquatics Diving World Cup held in Montreal, Canada. 

After winning the mixed team event on the opening day, Chinese divers maintained their momentum to pocket another four golds, finally topping the medal table with five golds and two bronzes.

The Montreal stop serves as a qualifier for the Diving World Cup Super Final, which is scheduled to take place in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, from April 19 to 21.

Some 18 individual divers, eight synchro teams and eight mixed team nations with the highest point totals in each event will qualify for the Super Final.

In the women's 10m synchronized final, Chinese duo Chen Yuxi and Quan Hongchan took the lead comfortably from the first dive and finished with a total score of 368.82, 67.68 points ahead of British duo Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson, who won silver. The Chinese athletes' win also marked their fifth straight worlds title in the synchronized event. 

Chen and Quan also cruised to victory at the same event in the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in February in Doha, Qatar.

In the men's 10m platform, Randal Willars of Mexico mounted up a serious challenge to the Chinese divers, but Yang Hao managed to outlast the Mexican with a narrow margin of 2.1 points. Another Chinese athlete, Lian Junjie, placed third with an under-par performance.

Liu Yu, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times on Sunday that Chinese divers maintained their overall momentum at the just concluded swimming worlds but need to be cautious about the inconsistency in some events.

"Given the current shortage of international diving competitions this year, divers from various countries highly cherish each opportunity to compete. Almost every elite diver is participating in the World Cup, making the competition at each stop equally intense. Every stop serves as a test for the Paris Olympic Games," said Liu. 

The Chinese team has demonstrated significant advantages in all four synchronized diving events, but in the fiercely contested individual events such as the men's 10m platform and women's 3m springboard, a minor mistake can cost a gold medal, Liu noted. 

Chang Yani, who clinched her maiden individual worlds title in Doha, fell short in her last dive in the 3m springboard final and finished third while Chen Yiwen enjoyed a comfortable victory.

Meanwhile, Chinese duo Long Daoyi and Wang Zongyuan edged out their British and Mexican counterparts to win the men's 3m synchronized. 

China's diving team maintained their dominance in the event as they bagged nine golds and four silvers at the Doha world championships in February.

In the first event of the World Cup on Friday, the Chinese team of Chen Yiwen, Chen Yuxi, Wang Zongyuan and Yang Hao dethroned the reigning world champion, the UK, to triumph in the mixed team event with Australia taking the bronze.

It's also worth noting that China did not compete in the mixed team event at the Doha World Championships. 

"I think I was getting my emotions too high tonight. In the team event, you think a lot of your teammates and everything. In individual [events], you're not thinking so it's kind of a relief to finish the team event early," Chen Yiwen said after the victory. 

The Montreal leg is the first stop of the 2024 Diving World Cup. The second stop will take place in Berlin, Germany, from March 21 to 24.

In addition to the Diving World Cup, the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup will be held in Beijing from April 5 to 7, while the first leg of the Swimming World Cup will take place in Shanghai from October 18 to 20.