World Aquatics Championships 2023: Top facts to know about Chinese diver Wang Zongyuan
The Olympic 3m synchro champion is the most recognisable name on the Chinese men's diving team at the 2023 World Championships. Here are some facts about the 21-year-old.
Diving
Wang Zongyuan is a five-time world champion who also clinched Olympic gold and silver at Tokyo 2020 for the People's Republic of China.
The 21-year-old diver claimed the men's 3m synchronised title and is heavily favoured to win one more gold in the 1m springboard event at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, which began in Fukuoka, Japan, on Friday (14 July).
Here are some things to know about the springboard diving specialist from Hubei Province in China.
Wang Zongyuan: World Championships history-maker
Last year, Wang became the first diver in World Championships history to win not one or two, but three gold medals in a single Championships meet.
Competing in the 1m springboard, 3m springboard, and synchronised 3m springboard events, Wang clinched victory in all of his events as part of China's clean sweep of all 13 diving titles in Budapest, Hungary.
He also successfully defended his 1m title from 2019, making him just the second person to win back-to-back gold medals in that event. However, he will be unable to make it a triple in the 1m this year as he has not been selected at the lowest height in Fukuoka.
Wang Zongyuan's development from 1m to 3m diver
Wang's success from the 3m boards has been a relatively recent phenomenon. At the 2019 World Championships, Wang competed only in the 1m event, which he won.
The postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 to 2021 helped Wang in this aspect. At the end of 2020, he partnered Xie Siyi in the 3m synchro – Xie was, at the time, the two-time reigning world champion in the individual 3m event.
That partnership allowed him to grow, qualifying for Tokyo 2020 where he partnered Xie to gold in the synchro and won silver behind his senior teammate in the individual event.
Wang clearly gained confidence from training and competing with Xie, as shown by his subsequent domination of the diving pool at the 2022 World Championships.
Where Wang Zongyuan's love of water came from
It's no surprise that Wang is so comfortable with the water.
Although, like many Chinese divers, Wang's early exposure to sport came in gymnastics before he switched to diving, unlike most of his peers, he was already used to the water.
Wang was born and raised in Xiangyang, a city in Hubei Province – which is located on a major tributary of the Yangtze River, the Han.
With his parents' guidance, Wang spent his early years playing in the Han from when he was three years old – perhaps explaining his love for the water.
Wang Zongyuan's musical talents
Did you know Wang Zongyuan has some musical talent too?
The diver was one of 55 Chinese Olympic athletes and world champions who sang a version of the song "See You In Beijing" in December 2021, which was originally released domestically in China as a promotional song 100 days ahead of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
That version, which also featured Wang's diving teammate Quan Hongchan and Chinese diving legend Shi Tingmao, was used as the song's official music video.