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Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Sport

Tokyo Olympics: Quan Hongchan’s hometown village in Guangdong province mobbed by fans

  • The 14-year-old became an instant sensation at Tokyo 2020 after recording three perfect-10 dives in the 10m platform to take gold
  • Quan’s story is quickly being exposed on Chinese social media and now the small village where she is from has been swarmed by tourists

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China’s diving sensation Quan Hongchan continues to grow her following at home with fans finding out where she lives and flocking to her hometown in Guangdong province. Photo: Reuters
Patrick Blennerhassett
Chinese diving sensation Quan Hongchan, who just made the cut-off in terms of age limit to compete at Tokyo 2020, continues to grow in celebrity status in her country and around the world.

She turned 14 four months ago, meeting the International Olympic Committee’s minimum age requirement, and quickly dived into the hearts of sports fans across the planet with a performance for the ages.

Chinese social media platform Weibo is now reporting that fans have found out where the diver lives, a small village called Maihe in Guangdong province, and have turned it into an instant tourist attraction.

Reports say fans have flooded the remote area trying to get photos with her parents, at the house, and have caused issues for the tiny population – which has now closed itself to visitors. On Weibo, the hashtag “how to view Quan Hongchan’s home becoming an internet hotspot” is trending.

Quan was the youngest athlete from China at the Games, and sealed the country’s 33rd gold medal in Tokyo with an astounding three perfect 10s in the 10m platform diving competition, which took place on August 5.

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She blasted her competition during a spectacular performance, achieving a record-breaking overall score of 466.20 – more than 40 points ahead of her 15-year-old teammate Chen Yuxi, who took silver.

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