China’s roster for the world diving championships that start June 26 includes two of its four individual gold medalists from the Tokyo Olympics.
Cao Yuan, who followed men’s springboard gold in Rio with platform gold in Tokyo, and Quan Hongchan, who won the women’s platform in Tokyo at age 14, headline the team for worlds in Budapest, according to Xinhua News Agency.
Ren Qian, the 2016 women’s platform champion, is the other individual Olympic gold medalist on the roster.
China won seven of the eight diving golds in Tokyo with a silver in the other in its most dominating team effort in Olympic history. It finished one-two in all four individual events.
About half of that dream team since stepped away from competition, according to Chinese media. Most notably, Shi Tingmao and Xie Siyi, who swept the women’s and men’s individual and synchronized springboard gold medals in Tokyo.
China, which has dominated the sport for two decades, won 12 of the 13 golds at the last worlds in 2019.
The U.S. diving roster for diving worlds is led by Delaney Schnell, who took platform bronze in 2019 and synchro platform silver in Tokyo, and Sarah Bacon, who took silver in the non-Olympic event of 1m springboard at the 2019 Worlds.
David Boudia, a four-time Olympic medalist who did not qualify for Tokyo, is on the coaching staff for worlds as he takes a break from competition. Boudia, 33, said in April that he does not know whether he will return to competition.
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