Cao Yuan

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Wikipedia

Cao Yuan
Cao at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Personal information
NationalityChina
Born (1995-02-07) 7 February 1995 (age 30)
Changsha, China
Height167 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Weight62 kg (137 lb)
Sport
CountryChina
SportDiving
Event(s)
3 m, 10 m, 3 m & 10 m synchro
ClubBeijing
Medal record
Men's diving
Representing ‹See TfM› China
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 4 1 1
World Championships 5 5 1
FINA Diving World Cup 5 3 0
Asian Games 4 1 0
Total 18 10 2
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2012 London10 m synchro
Gold medal – first place2016 Rio de Janeiro3 m springboard
Gold medal – first place2020 Tokyo10 m platform
Gold medal – first place2024 Paris10 m platform
Silver medal – second place2020 Tokyo10 m synchro
Bronze medal – third place2016 Rio de Janeiro3 m synchro
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2015 Kazan3 m synchro
Gold medal – first place2019 Gwangju3 m synchro
Gold medal – first place2019 Gwangju10 m synchro
Gold medal – first place2022 Budapest3 m synchro
Gold medal – first place2025 SingaporeTeam
Silver medal – second place2017 Budapest3 m synchro
Silver medal – second place2019 Gwangju3 m springboard
Silver medal – second place2022 Budapest3 m springboard
Silver medal – second place2024 Doha10 m platform
Silver medal – second place2025 Singapore3 m springboard
Bronze medal – third place2013 Barcelona10 m synchro
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place2018 Jakarta-Palembang3 m synchro
Gold medal – first place2014 Busan3 m springboard
Gold medal – first place2014 Busan3 m synchro
Gold medal – first place2010 Guangzhou10 m platform
Silver medal – second place2018 Jakarta-Palembang3 m springboard

Cao Yuan (Chinese: 曹缘; pinyin: Cáo Yuán; born 7 February 1995) is a Chinese diver and an Olympic gold medalist, having won four golds, one silver and one bronze in the Olympics. He has also won golds in diving at the World Championships and World Cups. Cao is considered the best male diver of all time.[1]

Early life

Cao was born on February 7, 1995 in Hunan province.[2] Cao started diving at age five. His mother wanted him to learn discipline, so she enrolled him in diving classes.[3]

His life motto is "Go your own way and see your own scenery. Be calm for life's ups and downs."[3]

Career

Cao is the only diver in history to win 3 gold medals in a single World Diving Series event by winning gold medals in 3m synchro, 10m synchro, and 10m individual events of the 2014 World Diving Series in Canada.

Cao together with Yue Lin are the only divers to ever win two World Series gold medals on the same day of the competition by winning the 3m synchro and 10m synchro events on 30 May 2014.

In 2015, he partnered with Qin Kai on the men's 3m synchro springboard at the World Championships in Kazan and won gold.[4]

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Cao led throughout the competition in the men's 3m springboard event, and won gold with a score of 547.60.[5] He also won bronze in the 3m springboard synchronized dive with Qin Kai.[6]

In 2017, at the World Championships in Budapest, Cao won silver pairing with Xie Siyi in the 3m synchro. In the 2018 World Cup, he won a gold in the 3m synchro with Xie, as well as a silver in the individual 3m springboard.[7]

At the 2019 World Aquatics Championships held in Gwangju, South Korea, Cao won gold in both the men's synchronised diving events. In the 3m synchro with Xie, the pair won with their last two dives,[8] and he also won with Chen Aisen in the 10m synchro.[9]

At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Cao and teammate Aisen Chen won silver in men's synchronized 10m platform.[10] He also won gold in individual 10m platform with 582.35 points.[11]

At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, he won the gold medal at the 10m platform event, capping off China's perfect eight-gold medal performance. Cao became the first athlete since Greg Louganis to win consecutive gold medals in this event.[12]

Accolades

In 2014, he was named the Male Diver of the Year by the International Swimming Federation (FINA). He was again given the accolade in 2018.[13]

He received the 4 May Youth Medal of Beijing in the People's Republic of China in 2014.[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Newberry, Paul (10 August 2024). "China completes unprecedented Olympic diving sweep as Cao Yuan wins another gold in men's platform".
  2. ↑ "Yuan Cao". London2012.com. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Yuan Cao". FINA. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  4. ↑ "Qin Kai/Cao Yuan snatch sixth gold for China diving at Kazan worlds". Xinhuanet. 29 July 2015. Archived from the original on 2 August 2015.
  5. ↑ "Cao Yuan wins fifth diving gold for China, in 3m springboard". Rio2016.com. Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Associated Press. 16 August 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016.
  6. ↑ "Qin Kai, Cao Yuan claim bronze in men synchronized 3m springboard diving". CRIEnglish. 11 August 2016. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016.
  7. ↑ "China sweeps two more golds at FINA Diving World Cup 2018". Xinhua. 7 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018.
  8. ↑ "China snatch three diving golds on offer in Gwangju worlds". Xinhua. 13 July 2019. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019.
  9. ↑ "The somersaulting divers making a splash in South Korea". Agencia EFE. 15 July 2019.
  10. ↑ "Cao Yuan and Chen Aisen win silver in men's synchronised 10m platform final". Xinhua. 26 July 2021.
  11. ↑ "Diving - Final Results". Olympics. 7 August 2021. Archived from the original on 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  12. ↑ "Chinese diver Cao Yuan defends men's 10m platform title at Paris Olympics-Xinhua". english.news.cn. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  13. ↑ Ross, Andy (16 December 2018). "FINA Awards Chad Le Clos and Katinka Hosszu as Best Swimmers of the Year at FINA World Aquatics Gala". Swimming World Magazine.
  14. ↑ "北京青年五四奖章揭晓 跳水队名将曹缘获殊荣". sports.qq.com. 5 May 2014.