Photo: Screenshot from the website
China's diving team maintained its commanding performance at the World Aquatics Diving World Cup 2025 in Guadalajara, Mexico on Saturday, sweeping all four gold medals on offer and adding a silver to its haul on the third day of competition.
In the highly anticipated women's 10m platform final, Chen Yuxi edged out teammate Quan Hongchan in a closely contested showdown. With a more consistent performance throughout the event, Chen secured the gold with a score of 419.35 points, finishing 4.95 points ahead of Quan. Andrea Spendolini Sirieix of Britain claimed the bronze.
"I made some mistakes in the prelims, so I'm glad I managed to adjust in time," said Chen after the final. "But interestingly, the dives that I performed well in the prelims weren't executed as well in the final," per Xinhua News Agency.
Quan, meanwhile, appeared unfazed by her silver, saying, "This was pretty much what I expected. My training at home hadn't been great, so I think today's performance was okay."
In the women's synchronized 3m springboard final, Chen Yiwen and Chang Yani led from start to finish, sealing the title with 323.79 points. Over on the men's 10m synchronized platform, China's Zhu Zifeng and Cheng Zilong pulled ahead in the final two rounds after a close battle with Mexico, finishing with 449.49 points to grab another gold for the team.
The day concluded with a dominant showing from Wang Zongyuan in the men's 3m springboard final. With a score of 540.15 points, Wang finished a staggering 82.70 points ahead of silver medalist Rodrigo Diego from Mexico. Colombia's Sebastian Morales took bronze.
The Guadalajara leg, which wraps up on Sunday, features the last four events: men's synchronized 3m springboard, women's synchronized 10m platform, women's 3m springboard, and men's 10m platform.
Notably, this is China's first major international competition of the year, and the first since long-time diving team leader Zhou Jihong retired.
"The Chinese diving team has always relied on a robust and meticulous training system," a Beijing-based sports commentator Wang Dazhao told the Global Times on Sunday. "With such a high starting point and deep talent pool, most athletes trained within the system go on to succeed. Even during transitional periods like now, changes are natural, but nothing is set in stone."
One of the most discussed changes this time around is the breaking up of the high-profile women's 10m synchronized platform pair: Chen Yuxi and Quan Hongchan. The duo, often dubbed a "double insurance" for their elite individual skills, sees a new partnership this time: Zhang Minjie and Lu Wei.
Chen also took part in the mixed team event on April 4, contributing to another gold medal for the team event.
Wang noted that while the decision to split Chen and Quan has drawn attention, the overall strength of the national team ensures no noticeable drop in quality. In fact, it may allow both athletes to focus more on individual events, while also fostering the development of new synchronized pairs.
"This is still a preparatory phase for the next Olympic," Wang said. "Different combinations will be tested and nothing is finalized yet. It's also a great opportunity to give younger divers experience in synchronized events, which may pave the way for them to take on bigger roles individually in the future."
He also added that this is a period of flexibility, and competitors from other countries may be going through similar changes too.
After the Mexico stop, the diving circuit will shift to Beijing for the World Aquatics Diving World Cup 2025 Super Final, to be held at the National Aquatics Center from May 2 to 4.
