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2020 Tokyo Olympic Diving Preview: Count On China
By Dan D’Addona
Based on the results of the last eight Olympics—and the most recent World Championships held two years ago—China would be a good bet to once again dominate the diving competition, July 23-Aug. 8, at the 2021 Games in Tokyo.
The last Olympics in which China did not finish as the world’s No. 1 diving team was in 1984—thirty-seven years ago! And at that Olympiad, China finished second in the medal standings. In the eight Games held since then (1988-2016), the world’s most populous country has won 42% of all medals awarded for diving—and 75% of the available gold.
But the last Olympics was five years ago. A lot could change in that time, you say. Well, the most recent international competition was the 2019 World Championships—and the results were even better: 44% of all medals…and 12 of 13 gold!
China boasts several generations of divers who have won medals in international competitions. Lin Shan, only 19 years old, represents the current generation. In 2019, she partnered with Yang Jian to a win a mixed team gold medal at the World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea.
But the old guard is not to be overlooked.
Three Olympic gold medalists from Rio 2016—Chen Aisen, Shi Tingmao and Ren Qian—along with world champions Wang Han and Zhang Jiaqi, have performed well at national competitions in 2020 following the re-opening of pools during the pandemic.
Tingmao and Han placed 1-2 on the 3-meter springboard at Worlds, while Yiwen Chen captured 1-meter. Yuxi Chen and Wei Lu, who went 1-2 on platform, will also be hoping to represent their country at Tokyo.
For China’s men at Gwangju, Wang Zongyuan won gold on 1-meter, ahead of Peng Jianfeng, who captured bronze. They also added 1-2 finishes on 3-meter (Xie Siyi and Cao Yuan) and platform (Yang Jian and Yang Hao).
Among some of the world’s other top divers are Mexico’s Rommel Pacheco Marrufo, who was the 1-meter silver medalist in 2019, and Juan Celaya-Hernandez, who has been a factor on multiple boards as well. Great Britain’s Jack Laugher was a 3-meter bronze medalist at Worlds, and Aleksandr Bondar of Russia won bronze on platform.
South Korea’s Suji Kim was the women’s bronze medalist on 1-meter, while Australia’s Maddison Keeney won bronze on 3-meter.
[PHOTO CREDIT: MINE KASAPOGLU/ISL]
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Swimming World April 2021 Issue
FEATURES
012 A PANDEMIC PERSPECTIVE FROM MASTERS SWIMMING
by Dan D’Addona
Masters swimmers maintain a connection to the sport they love as well as to their team and community. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, that connection has been missing the past year, but they are ready to face the challenges that lie ahead.
017 DEATH, TAXES…AND INDIAN RIVER!
by Andy Ross
Indian River State College will be shooting for its 47th straight men’s and 39th consecutive women’s NJCAA team titles.
018 TAKEOFF TO TOKYO: SPRINT TSAR
by John Lohn
As Swimming World continues its “Takeoff to Tokyo” series, the opportunity to examine the career of Russia’s Alexander Popov—accomplishments and approach—is the chance to pay tribute to a man who might be the greatest sprinter the sport has ever seen.
021 COUNT ON CHINA
by Dan D’Addona
Based on the results of the last eight Olympics—and the most recent World Championships held two years ago—China would be a good bet to once again dominate the diving competition, July 23-Aug. 8, at the 2021 Games in Tokyo.
022 EVER THE COMPETITOR
by David Rieder
Five years after her public introduction to the world at the Rio Olympics, little has changed about Lilly King. She will still speak her mind, tell you how she really feels, and she’s still a winner, a dominant force in sprint breaststroke.
025 THE GREATEST OF THEIR GENERATION
by Bruce Wigo
The General Slocum steamship disaster in 1904, the tragedy that changed swimming history, had an impact on two of the greatest swimming heroes of all time, Johnny Weissmuller and Charles Robert Drew.
028 NUTRITION: FUELING FOR COMPETITION—THE “CHERRY ON TOP!”
by Dawn Weatherwax
Athletes spend hours upon hours training. It is now time to put the sports nutrition piece all together when it matters most. A big part of the plan is to know what, when and how much to eat and drink before, during and after the event.
COACHING
014 FAST AND FURIOUS
by Michael J. Stott
College coaches Braden Holloway (NC State), Todd DeSorbo (Virginia), Matt Kredich (Tennessee) and Jessen Book (Kenyon) share their ideas on how they help their swimmers maximize turn speed.
038 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: APPLYING MECHANICAL PRINCIPLES TO IMPROVE SWIMMING TECHNIQUE
by Rod Havriluk
Many swimmers attempt to swim faster by modeling the technique of the fastest swimmers. Using champions as models is an archaic approach of painstakingly slow, trial-and-error that risks adopting technique limitations. A far superior approach is to apply mechanical principles that eliminate uncertainty and accelerate the skill-learning process.
043 Q&A WITH COACH MEGAN OESTING
by Michael J. Stott
044 HOW THEY TRAIN DIGGORY DILLINGHAM
by Michael J. Stott
TRAINING
037 DRYSIDE TRAINING: PUSHING POWER
by J.R. Rosania
JUNIOR SWIMMER
040 GOLDMINDS: LEARN HOW TO BE A RACER
by Wayne Goldsmith
It’s important to learn how to swim your event in such a way that you can perform to your potential in every possible racing situation, including different strategies for heats, semifinals and finals.
047 UP & COMERS: DANIEL DIEHL
by Shoshanna Rutemiller
COLUMNS & SPECIAL SECTIONS
008 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT
011 DID YOU KNOW: ABOUT THE STORY OF THE AUMAKUA?
030 2021 SWIM CAMP DIRECTORY
046 DADS ON DECK: BRENT BILQUIST
048 GUTTERTALK
049 PARTING SHOT
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