Diving gold and perfect marks for China’s Chen Yuxi at age 13
Gold medalist China’s Chen Yuxi, left, stands with compatriot and silver medalist Lu Wei, as they pose for photgraphers after the women’s 10m platform diving final at the World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, Wednesday, July 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
GWANGJU, South Korea — Thirteen-year-old Chinese diver Chen Yuxi won the women’s 10-meter platform final at the world swimming championships on Wednesday, and received two perfect marks for her third drive.
Chen finished on 439 points to clinch the gold medal at her first worlds.
“Everybody told me to relax before the final, but I still could hear my heart beat,” Chen said.
“I was shaky in the first two dives and then I felt better and better. I thought about challenging myself and reaching above 440.”
It was the ninth diving gold medal in nine events at Gwangju, with three events remaining, all Olympic disciplines. The men’s 3-meter springboard is set for Thursday, the women’s 3-meter on Friday and the men’s 10-meter platform on Saturday.
Another 13-year-old Chinese diver, Lu Wei, provided competition for Chen before winning silver Wednesday with 377.80 points.
“Although I had a gold medal from the synchro, I was still nervous about competing in the individual event,” Lu said. “I made a mistake in the second dive but overall was OK.”
American Delaney Schnell was third with 364.20 points.
