China dominates at World Aquatics Championships

China is dominating the medal table at the ongoing Fukuoka World Aquatics Championships, claiming a total of nine gold medals and securing the top position on the medal tally with 12 medals.

In the Mixed 3m & 10m Team final of diving on Tuesday, China pocketed its ninth gold in convincing fashion by surpassing Mexico and Germany.

“China’s diving dream team has never disappointed us,” said one user on Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo. 

In the Artistic Swimming Team Technical Routine final on Monday, the Chinese team secured the gold medal with a score of 238.0033. The teams from the US and Japan claimed the silver and bronze medals, respectively. 

The Chinese diving team excelled in the women’s 3m synchronized springboard and men’s 10m synchronized platform, clinching two gold medals. Chen Yiwen and Chang Yani, the defending champions in the women’s 3m synchronized from the previous edition of the Swimming World Championships, took the gold with a score of 341.94. 

In the men’s 10m synchronized platform final, which featured 12 pairs of participants, the Chinese duo Yang Hao and Lian Junjie garnered a total of 477.75 points for their six dives, leading the second-place pair by nearly 40 points.

On Sunday, the Chinese team added two golden medals. Peng Jianfeng won the men’s 1m springboard gold. In the women’s 10m synchronized platform final, China’s female diving aces Chen Yuxi and Quan Hongchan claimed the championship, dominating the competition with a total score of 369.84 points. They surpassed the second-place British pair of Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson by 58.08 points. The victory also secured a berth for the duo in the diving competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

A total of 22 female swimmers and 19 male swimmers from China are competing in all 42 events at the championships, which were originally scheduled to be held in Fukuoka in 2021.