In today's sports world, diving is no longer a marginal sport in the past, but has become a resounding business card of Chinese sports, among which the legendary stories of Quan Hongchan and Zhou Jihong have contributed a lot. Is it true that their success is only due to their natural talent?
In Quan Hongchan's story, what is often overlooked is the score data that is accurate to two decimal places. For example, at the Tokyo Olympics, Quan Hongchan won the championship in the women's 10-meter platform diving with a total score of 366.20. Every jump she makes is a comprehensive test of technical difficulty, physical coordination, and mental quality. In those tense and exciting moments, Quan Hongchan showed not only gymnastics-style somersaults and turns, but also calmness and firmness in psychological quality. Behind every point, there are countless training day after day, the crystallization of tears and sweat in the diving pool.
In international competitions, the high degree of unity and technical level displayed by Zhou Jihong's disciples has made the world look at Chinese diving with admiration. For example, at the World Diving Championships, the dominance of the Chinese team in men's and women's diving events has almost become a norm. Technical difficulty, air attitude, splash control, these terms have almost become synonymous with the Chinese team. And all this is the result of Zhou Jihong's careful guidance, and every time she waves her hand to guide, it is the refinement of the athlete's extreme challenge and the persistence of the pursuit of perfection.
A real diving competition is far more complicated than what the audience sees in front of a TV. Every flip, twist, and even breath control that a diver makes in the air can be the difference between victory and defeat. In the difficult maneuvers of "swinging the arms with the backhand and somersaulting backwards for three and a half weeks", the athlete needs to accurately sense his position in the air to ensure that he can enter the water accurately. And this precision is honed through countless diving trainings under the strict requirements of the coach.
Such a competition is not only a test of the physical fitness of athletes, but also an extreme challenge to the psychological quality. On the field, those seemingly insignificant points difference is often the difference between the champion and the runner-up. The Chinese diving team has been able to achieve excellent results on the world stage continuously, thanks to their excellence in every detail of the movement, as well as strict training of psychological quality. This point is fully reflected in the story of Quan Hongchan and Zhou Jihong.
The story of Quan Hongchan and Zhou Jihong is the epitome of China's brilliant achievements in diving. Quan Hongchan won the Olympic gold medal at the age of less than fifteen, behind which is the unknown sweat and tears, countless jumps from the three-meter board to the ten-meter platform, and the never-give-up persistence in her heart every time she breaks through the water. Zhou Jihong's legend is a gorgeous transformation from athlete to coach, and her every hard work has sown the seeds of victory for the younger generations of the Chinese diving team. The inheritance of this spirit is a microcosm of China's sports spirit and a vivid footnote to the development of national sports.
The details of the diving competition are the ultimate pursuit of skill. For example, when performing a "forward somersault and a half twist", the athlete needs to control every detail of his body with precision: from the angle of the take-off to the adjustment of the air posture to the final entry into the water. This pursuit of skill, to some extent, has transcended sports and reached the realm of art.
The success of the Chinese diving team is also inseparable from scientific management and systematic training. In the world of athletics, the use of data and technology has become crucial. Through the analysis of athletes' training data, coaching teams are able to develop training plans more precisely and optimize every movement of athletes to achieve better results in competitions. This kind of scientific management not only improves the technical level of athletes, but also greatly improves their psychological quality, so that they can maintain the best condition in a high-pressure competition environment.