Perfection exists at the Tokyo Olympics, and it was on display during the final round of the women's 10m platform diving competition when Chinese diver Quan Hongchan performed two dives that earned straight scores of 10 from all seven judges.
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Quan just turned 14 in March and is the youngest athlete representing China in Tokyo, but she looked like a seasoned veteran from her stance at the top of the platform to the moment she completed a splash-less entry into the pool.
In her first major international competition, she totaled a 466.20 to obliterate the previous Olympic record of 447.70 and capture her first gold in dominant fashion. The newest diver in a long line of Chinese Olympic champions took up the sport as a way to financially support her mother who has an illness that requires year-round treatment.
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Quan's first perfect dive came in Round 2 when she flawlessly executed a tucked inward 3.5 somersault. She added another perfect score in Round 4 with a textbook back double somersault with 1.5 twists out of a handstand, and only one judge scored her final back piked 2.5 somersault with 2.5 twists dive at a 9.5 while the six others posted straight 10s. All five of her dives earned the No. 1 score of each individual round, and the next closest competitor was over 40 points behind Quan's total score.
Chen Yuxi claimed the silver to bring China's total haul of diving medals in Tokyo to 10, and Australia's Melissa Wu won her first individual medal in her fourth Olympic appearance by scoring a 371.40 to clinch bronze.
American Delaney Schnell placed fifth after a performance that featured solid dives but was not as sharp as her showings in the preliminary and semifinal rounds. Schnell entered the competition having already won a silver with partner Jessica Parratto in the women’s synchronized 10m platform competition.