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]
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| Nationality | China | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 7 February 1995 Changsha, China | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 167 cm (5 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 62 kg (137 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | China | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Diving | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 3 m, 10 m, 3 m & 10 m synchro | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Beijing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life
editCao Yuan was born on February 7, 1995 in Hunan province.[2] Cao Yuan 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
editCao Yuan 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 Yuan 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 Yuan 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
editIn 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
editReferences
edit- ^ Newberry, Paul (10 August 2024). "China completes unprecedented Olympic diving sweep as Cao Yuan wins another gold in men's platform".
- ^ "Yuan Cao". London2012.com. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012.
- ^ a b "Yuan Cao". FINA. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Cao Yuan wins fifth diving gold for China, in 3m springboard". Rio 2016. Associated Press. 16 August 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016.
- ^ "Qin Kai, Cao Yuan claim bronze in men synchronized 3m springboard diving". CRIEnglish. 11 August 2016. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016.
- ^ "China sweeps two more golds at FINA Diving World Cup 2018". Xinhua. 7 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018.
- ^ "China snatch three diving golds on offer in Gwangju worlds". Xinhua. 13 July 2019. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019.
- ^ "The somersaulting divers making a splash in South Korea". Agencia EFE. 15 July 2019.
- ^ "Cao Yuan and Chen Aisen win silver in men's synchronised 10m platform final". Xinhua. 26 July 2021.
- ^ "Diving - Final Results". Olympics. 7 August 2021. Archived from the original on 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- ^ "Chinese diver Cao Yuan defends men's 10m platform title at Paris Olympics-Xinhua". english.news.cn. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
External links
edit
- Cao Yuan at World Aquatics
- Cao Yuan at IAT Database Diving (in German)
- Cao Yuan at Olympics.com
- Cao Yuan at Olympedia
- Cao Yuan at the Chinese Olympic Committee (archived)
