At the 15th National Games in Guangzhou, a powerhouse performance from Shanghai's Chen Yuxi and Zhang Minjie seized the spotlight in the women's synchronized 10-meter platform event.
Teaming up to represent co-host Guangdong, the world champions delivered near-flawless dives across five rounds, finishing on 350.22 points—a score even higher than their gold-winning total at the World Championships in Singapore.
Tokyo Olympic gold medalists Zhang Jiaqi and Quan Hongchan, also diving for Guangdong, and world champion Lu Wei partnering Li Ruixui for Sichuan, were among the favorites. But Chen and Zhang pulled ahead from the very first dive and never looked back.
Lu and Li claimed silver, while Jiangsu's Liu Junxi and Meng Zerui took bronze. Zhang Jiaqi and Quan Hongchan narrowly missed the podium after a strong showing in the preliminaries.
This stellar show of talent underscores a new wave of young divers raising the bar in the sport. As the National Games continue, eyes are on these athletes as they gear up for future world and Olympic stages.
Stay tuned for more highlights from every corner of the Chinese mainland.
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Shanghai and Guangdong divers dominate at China's 15th National Games
cgtn.com
