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Fu Mingxia Twists and Turns to Join Diving Legends
Fu Mingxia Twists and Turns to Join Diving Legends
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China's Fu Mingxia snatched her fourth Olympic gold medal on Thursday, joining Americans Pat McCormick and Greg Louganis as the only divers to win four gold medals.
Fu, who trailed teammate Guo Jingjing by 5.88 points, overtook her synchronized partner by 1.68 points and scored 77.43 points on her last dive -- reverse 1-1/2 somersaults and 2-1/2 twists.
The score of 609.42 points and an edge of 11.61 over Guo won Fu a back-to-back springboard gold. Her winning total was 35.07 points over Germany's Doerte Lindner, who got the bronze.
"I wasn't sure if I would get the gold, I feel fortunate to get another chance," said the queen of the split-second arts.
Fu Mingxia Twists and Turns to Join Diving Legends
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"My training time was short, I had injuries so I had a lot to overcome. I'm very happy to win a gold at my third Olympics."
Fu became a world champion at age 12, first took Olympic gold at age 13, and then retired at age 19 after winning another two golds at the 1996 Games. When she appeared in Sydney, Fu was older, wiser and, her coaches said, a better diver than ever.
The girl who captured hearts at the 1992 Olympics with her nearly perfect dives from the perilous heights of the 10m platform is now a woman with an easy laugh. At 23, she's also the grand ol'dame of a team where the other three women are still in their teens.
After she became the first woman in 36 years to win the springboard and platform at the same Olympics in Atlanta, Fu became a student, studying economic management and learning English at Beijing's prestigious Qinghua University, and gaining so much weight "I didn't want to put on a swimming costume," she said last year.
She had second thoughts after a couple of years. She tried out for her college diving team and began brushing off the rust.
The time away and new experiences have seasoned Fu, helping her rediscover her love of the sport and better equipping her for Sydney, said the head of China's team, Zhou Jihong.
"It's practically unheard of, especially for a female athlete, to stop for two years and get back to such a high level," Zhou said.
"Mentally, and in other areas, she has improved, she's even-keeled and mature," Zhou added. "Overall, she's better than before.
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