Jimu News reporter Yang Jinying
At about 5 pm on July 27th, Beijing time, at the Paris Olympic Games, Chinese diving "Dream Team" members Chen Yiwen and Chang Yani participated in the women's synchronized 3-meter springboard diving event and defeated The opponent wins the championship. This is the first Olympic gold medal for the two, and also allows the Chinese team to achieve the feat of six consecutive Olympic titles in the women's synchronized 3-meter springboard diving event.
At the same time, this is also the first Olympic gold medal in the history of Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province. On the afternoon of the 27th, in the basketball hall of Zhongshan Sports School, which trained and transported Chen Yiwen, Chen Yiwen’s parents and sister, as well as more than 600 school teachers and students, were also paying attention to the game in real time. Seeing Chen Yiwen and his partner win the championship, Chen Yiwen's mother Sun Mingyin shed tears with excitement. She said, "Finally, my dream came true."
Chen Yiwen and Chang Yani won the championship (Source: 2024 getty images)
Olympic newcomers won the championship strongly
Beijing time At 5 pm on July 27, the combination of Chen Yiwen and Chang Yani appeared on the women's synchronized 3-meter springboard diving event at the Paris Olympic Games.
This young combination is one of the key combinations cultivated in the Paris Olympic cycle team. In the past few years, it can be said that they have swept all world competitions in the women's synchronized 3-meter diving competition. In February 2024, at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Chen Yiwen and Chang Yani won the women's doubles 3-meter springboard championship, achieving three consecutive world championships in the women's doubles 3-meter springboard.
The 2024 Paris Olympics is the first Olympic trip for these two "post-95s" female athletes. It is also the first time that the Chinese diving team has sent a combination of two Olympic newcomers to compete in the women's synchronized 3-meter springboard competition. The pairing of every previous Olympic Games has always consisted of an Olympic champion leading a newcomer. Since its debut in the Olympic Games in 2000, except for the first one, the Chinese diving team has won the next five Olympic championships.
Chen Yiwen and Chang Yani did not disappoint everyone. The entire game was a process in which the two continued to widen the gap between them and their opponents. In the first two rounds of action events with difficulty coefficient 2.0, the two temporarily ranked first with 103.80 points; starting from the third round of self-selected actions, the two continued to widen the point difference with their opponents. In the fifth round of difficulty The 5152b action with a coefficient of 3.0 scored 76.50 points, directly locking the championship. In the end, the two won the championship with 337.68 points.
Chen Yiwen’s parents (third and fourth from left in the row) were watching Chen Yiwen’s competition (photographed by Jimu News reporter Yang Jinying)
Zhongshan’s first Olympic gold medal in history
Just as Chen Yiwen and Chang Yani held hands on the highest podium, in Zhongshan, Guangdong Huge cheers also erupted on the campus of the Municipal Sports School. More than 600 teachers and students of the school gathered in the gymnasium to send blessings to alumnus Chen Yiwen for winning the championship.
Chen Yiwen takes photos during training at Zhongshan Sports School (Photo provided by Zhongshan Sports School)
Zhongshan is where Chen Yiwen’s diving dream started. Chen Yiwen, who was born in Haikou, Hainan in June 1999, has shown a strong interest in sports since he was a child, and gradually revealed his sports talent. According to Hainan Daily, in 2008, Chen Yiwen’s mother Sun Mingyin took Xiao Yiwen back to her natal home in Zhanjiang to celebrate the New Year. She happened to meet her neighbors, Wu Guocun, then director of the Guangdong Provincial Diving Sports Management Center, and Zhong Quansheng, the head coach of the Zhanjiang Chikan Diving Team, and Sun Mingyin. He asked Zhong Quansheng if he could let Chen Yiwen dive.
At that time, Chen Yiwen was already eight and a half years old. The best age to learn diving is around six years old. Many children in the diving center started practicing at the age of four or five. Coach Zhong said at the time that the child was older and he was worried about wasting her time. Sun Mingyin was unwilling to give up and asked him to see if her daughter's physical condition was suitable for learning diving. Wu Guocun felt that Chen Yiwen was in good physical condition and said that he could let Coach Zhong give her a try.
Facts have proved that Mrs. Chen’s bold attempt was not wrong. In August 2008, less than half a year after Chen Yiwen entered Zhanjiang Chikan District Sports School, she was selected to join the Zhongshan Diving Team. In October 2010, Chen Yiwen entered the Guangdong Provincial Diving Team. In November 2016, Chen Yiwen was selected for the Chinese national diving team.
Zhang Xiurong, who is now retired, was Chen Yiwen’s diving coach when he was studying at Zhongshan Sports School.She recalled that Chen Yiwen was a smart and energetic child who was willing to endure hardships. While others practiced for 5 hours, she could practice for 6 or 7 hours until she perfected her movements. This also allowed her to make rapid progress in training, and the coaches liked her very much. And she lived up to expectations, entering the provincial team and the national team in a short period of time, until today she stands on the Olympic stage.
Zhang Xiurong mentioned that Chen Yiwen's victory is of great significance to Zhongshan - it is the first gold medal for a Guangdong athlete in this Olympics and the first Olympic gold medal in the history of Zhongshan City, Guangdong. With her as a role model, junior brothers and sisters will have more motivation and direction to train.
Chen Yiwen’s mother (fourth from left in the row) was moved to tears while watching the award ceremony (Photo by Jimu News reporter Yang Jinying)
Never said that training is hard
Chen Yiwen’s parents and sister also made a special trip from Hainan to Zhongshan to be with the teachers and students of Zhongshan Sports School Watch the game. This was the first time for the Chen family to participate in a group viewing. They did not tell Chen Yiwen, "I'm afraid she will be stressed, so she can just relax and compete." Sun Mingyin said.
Over the years, the relationship between family members and Chen Yiwen has been like this - Chen Yiwen will not mention competitions and training with her family members, and her family members have a tacit understanding not to talk too much and simply let her cheer.
When Chen Yiwen went to Paris to prepare for the war, she would chat with her family every day, share her experiences in the Paris Olympic Village, find out what fun and delicious food she had, and go shopping in Paris to buy gifts for relatives and friends.
During Chen Yiwen's competition, Sun Mingyin kept her eyes on the big screen. Every time her daughter finished dancing and saw the score, she showed a faint smile. But she has great confidence in her daughter. Before the game, she told reporters that Chen Yiwen is a competition-type player. He may be average in training, but he improves quickly through competitions. Since last year, Chen Yiwen has made sufficient accumulation through many events such as the Hangzhou Asian Games, Diving World Cup, and World Championships.
In contrast, Chen Yiwen’s father Chen Junfeng’s expression was more calm. It wasn’t until he saw Chen Yiwen and Chang Yani finishing the fifth jump, locking the championship in advance, that he stood up excitedly and said: “I have been very nervous in the front. After watching the fifth jump, "The jump was completely released." But then, he calmly said that it was not the time for the final celebration, "Chen Yiwen will also participate in the women's singles 3-meter springboard preliminaries at 9 pm on August 7, and will continue to encourage her." She, take your time and compete well."
Seeing Chen Yiwen on the podium, Sun Mingyin and her eldest daughter Chen Qi'an hugged each other excitedly and shed tears of joy. She is well aware that her daughter's journey has not been easy. "Growing up, she never said that training was hard, but she often said that she missed home. Especially when she was a child, she could only go home once a year because of training, so she would lie and say that she didn't want to practice. I want to go home."
But in the end, Chen Yiwen went all the way, from Hainan to Guangdong, to the whole country, and finally landed on the most eye-catching stage in the world. "Now I finally got through it and realized my dream!" Sun Mingyin said with tears. Talking about her experience in raising her daughter, her words were simple but profound: "You must persist, encourage more, and focus on encouragement."
The last time Chen Yiwen went home was the year before last. Sun Mingyin said that when she comes back, she will prepare delicious food for her daughter. She revealed that Chen Yiwen loves shrimps and braised pork the most and will accompany her to play whatever she wants. "She loves playing in the water and surfing. She goes there every time she returns to Hainan, and we will go with her."”
(Source: Jimu News)
