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Lars Hamer

As China continues to dominate diving at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, one glaring omission is three-time Olympic champion Quan Hongchan.
Quan was originally listed in the squad to compete at the world championships, but had to withdraw because of what she called “a serious ankle” injury.
While her teammates continued the country’s long-held diving domination, picking up seven from a possible nine golds in Singapore, Quan has returned to training, vowing to come back for the 15th National Games in Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macau.
However, a video of Quan being unable to complete an exercise in training sparked discussion on Weibo this week as to whether she is capable of remaining among the very best.
A hashtag related to the video and her recovery has been viewed more than 70 million times.

The video showed Quan not being able to perform as many hanging leg raises as her male training partner. The video did not show how many she had completed before she had to stop.
“Quan Hongchan’s competitive form has fluctuated recently,” one popular comment said. “The combined effects of accelerated physical development and long-standing injuries have resulted in less-than-satisfactory performances, leading to her missing numerous important competitions, including the world championships … There are even signs she could be considering retirement.”
In the past week, local media outlets have also published articles discussing whether she can return to the national team, despite never having left.
While Quan has never said when she would retire, it is not the first time fans have questioned the 18-year-old’s future.
Whispers began circulating following her performance at the World Aquatics Diving World Cup in April and May, where she could only manage silver in the 10m platform event at legs in Mexico and Canada.
At the World Cup Super Final in Beijing, Quan got her first gold of the tournament in the 10m synchronised event, but again could only manage silver in the 10m platform.
During the event, Quan said she was pleased with her performance as she thought it exceeded expectations because she was still “getting used to” her new height and subsequent weight change.
Her coach Chen Ruolin also weighed in on the issue during the World Cup: “Every athlete goes through a growth and development period. Quan Hongchan is a very talented athlete who sets high standards for herself. I have great confidence in her.”
In Paris, Quan was just under 5ft 1in (1.55 metres), but according to Chinese media reports, she is now closer to 5ft 3in.
Quan, aside from boasting five world championship titles and two Asian Games golds, transcends sport.
She cannot walk the street without being mobbed by fans; her hometown has become a tourist destination, and her family even installed drones to monitor their home and stop people from trying to sneak a view of Quan.
The teenager has been training full-time since she joined the Zhanjiang Sports School in 2014. In 2020, she joined the national team and one year later at the Tokyo Olympics, she was the delegation’s youngest athlete, aged 14.
Chinese Olympians spend years away from their family as most are trained in boarding school-like institutions. After winning one gold in Tokyo, Quan spoke of the time she had spent away from her family, and said she had dedicated her childhood to diving to pay for her mother’s medical bills.


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Quan Hongchan waves to the crowd ahead of the  women’s 10m platform final at the Aquatics Centre in Paris. Photo: Getty Images

Quan Hongchan competes during the women’s 10m platform final at the World Aquatics Diving World Cup in Beijing. Photo: Xinhua

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Does growth spurt and ankle injury mean we are now in the twilight of Olympian’s glittering career?


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Quan Hongchan skipped the World Aquatics Championships. Where is China’s diving ace?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Does growth spurt and ankle injury mean we are now in the twilight of Olympian’s glittering career?

Does growth spurt and ankle injury mean we are now in the twilight of Olympian’s glittering career?