Paris Olympics: Cao Yuan Clinches China’s Gold Medal Sweep in Diving

Paris Olympics: Cao Yuan Clinches China’s Gold Medal Sweep in Diving

Make that eight for eight.

China concluded its unprecedented dominance in diving at the 2024 Paris Olympics with yet another gold-medal performance.

Cao Yuan defended his Olympic title in the men’s 10-meter platform on Saturday.

It was China’s eighth gold medal in diving in Paris as the country completed a sweep of all eight events, something that has never been done before.

China has won 56 of 72 gold medals in diving since the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Since the 2008 Beijing Games, China has won 35 of 40 gold medals in the sport.

The last sweep of any kind in diving at the Olympics was when there were four events and the United States won all four golds in Helsinki in 1952.

Cao, 29, finished with 547.50 points to become the first male diver since Greg Louganis of the U.S. in 1988 to win back-to-back gold medals on platform.

Cao has four golds in his career, tying Louganis – who was on hand – for the most ever by a male Olympic diver. He won the 3-meter springboard in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and a 10-meter synchro gold at London in 2012.

“I believe in myself,” Cao said through an interpreter. “I am very, very confident.”

Rikuto Tamai had a strong final dive to earn the silver medal with a score of 507.65. It was the first diving medal ever for Japan.

The bronze medal went to Noah Williams of Great Britain at 497.35.

China finished with 11 diving medals overall, one shy of its record-tying total at the Tokyo Games.

The only other nation to win 12 diving medals at a single Games was the U.S. in 1932, when American athletes made up the bulk of the field and swept the podium in all four events at Los Angeles.

This year, the U.S. claimed one medal at the Paris Olympics with Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook taking silver in the 3-meter women’s synchro.

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