Published on : 09/08/2024
Ouvrons Grand les Jeux, Games wide open！
The highly anticipated Paris Olympics is held from July 26 to August 11.
The "Our China Story" website has specially launched a Paris Olympics special series, capturing every splendid moment and sharing interesting stories of it.
This article will introduce Chen Yiwen (陳藝文), a female athlete from the "Dream Team" of Chinese diving.
Paris Olympics｜Chen Yiwen scolded by a famous Chinses actor?
Chen Yiwen, who won two golds in the women's singles and doubles three-metre springboard diving at the Paris Olympics, is a leading figure in China's new "Dream Team". What people may not know is that she was once a child actress.
Chen was born in June 1999 in Haikou, Hainan. She was lively and cheerful since she was a child and had a keen interest in sports.
"I was quite naughty when I was young, always moving around, playing everything, such as running, roller skating, dancing, and I had a lot of fun."
As a child, Chen Yiwen also took commercial roles and acted in TV dramas.
In the Chinese drama "Landing, Please Open Your Mobile Phone" (《落地，請開手機》), a scene of the famous Chinese actor Sun Honglei, playing Wang Hao, scolding Chen on an airplane became a classic. Sun probably had never thought that the little girl with long hair would become an Olympic champion in the future.
Chen Yiwen got acquainted with diving in 2008. That year during the Spring Festival, she followed her mother back to Zhanjiang, Guangdong, from Haikou to celebrate the Chinese New Year. They visited her mother's friend's daughter who was learning diving.
Read more: Paris Olympics｜Sun Yingsha: I want to become a "Big Devil"
Paris Olympics｜Chen Yiwen couldn't swim when she first learned to dive
In the training venue, Chen Yiwen immediately became interested when she found out that the diving training on land was to "jump on the trampoline"; with the permission of the coach, she jumped on the trampoline with other training kids, playing for two days.
Her mother saw the love Chen Yiwen had for the sport and had the idea for her to give it a try. The mother found an old neighbour who was working at the Guangdong provincial diving sports management centre and said, "I want my daughter to learn diving. Let's see if she is suitable for it."
And so, Chen was arranged to attend a boarding school in Zhanjiang to study and learn diving; in order to make it easier to practice, she decisively cut her long hair and since then, she has presented herself in a simple and energetic short hair.
Back then, Chen Yiwen didn't even know how to swim. The coach had to tie a rope around her waist and throw her into the water to learn how to swim first, and then learn how to dive.
Paris Olympics｜Chen Yiwen becomes unbeatable when paired with Chang Yani
Compared to other students, Chen started a little late, but with her out-of-ordinary talent, the coordination and flexibility from previous dance learning, along with her never-give-up spirit, her progress was continual.
She was soon selected for the diving team of Zhongshan city sports school, later joining the Guangdong team, and was selected for the national team in 2016, specialising in singles and doubles three metres springboard.
In the more professional and standardised training of the national team, Chen Yiwen gradually matured. In 2018, she won her first world championship.
"At that time, I realised that as long as I can withstand the hardships (of training), I can go further than I imagined. From then on, I feel that I can stand on the highest podium," said Chen Yiwen, who may look carefree, but is clear about her goals and aware of her responsibilities.
Following that, Chen Yiwen continued to improve the details of her moves and stability, winning many gold medals in important competitions such as the World Championships and the Asian Games. Her double three-metre springboard pairing with Chang Yani (昌雅妮), a "once-in-a-lifetime friend," has been unmatched for many years.
Paris Olympics｜Chen Yiwen celebrates gold with a "princess carry"
Chen Yiwen, who won the women's three-metre springboard at the 2024 Paris Olympics, has become a leading figure and main force in China's diving "Dream Team" with the retirement of "senior sisters" such as Shi Tingmao (施廷懋) and Wang Han (王涵).
She did not let us down. On July 27, Chen and her partner Chang Yani performed excellently in the women's double three metres springboard competition, and easily won the gold medal.
This was the first gold for the "Dream Team" at this Olympics, and also the second gold for the Chinese team at the Paris Olympics.
After the competition, the scene of her holding Chang Yani in a "princess carry" went viral on the internet.
She gave a speech saying, "These few years have been quite tough, because our weight and technique styles are quite different. We have made a lot of efforts to match our doubles performance. I am thankful to Chang Yani for being with me at every special moment over the past years."
Of course, Chen Yiwen had more harvests on the Paris Olympics field. On August 8, she competed in the women's single three-metre springboard event and easily won another gold medal. Chang Yani, who also competed, won the silver medal.