Former Chinese national diving coach Yu Fen dropped a bombshell last week, saying in her blog that she hopes to return to the national team and put her vast experience at the country's disposal in the run-up to the Beijing Games.
The surprise announcement gelled with Chinese fans. More than 6,000 read her blog within 24 hours and many championed her potential return to the national team's coaching staff.
Others disagreed, and a tug-of-war soon erupted in the wake of her announcement.
Yu is one of China's most influential diving coaches, having produced four-time Olympic champion Fu Mingxia, and reigning world and Olympic champion Guo Jingjing.
Many netizens argued that her return could be a harbinger of future division within the Chinese camp given her strained relations with diving officials and especially with current head coach Zhou Jihong.
"Every Chinese person has a responsibility to make a contribution to the Olympic Games," Yu said in defending her application on her blog on Monday.
"With my 27 years of coaching experience, I can give the team a more stable, improved and guaranteed approach to winning Olympic gold medals."
Yu has good reason to be confident.
At the 1988 Seoul Olympics she coached Li Qing to a springboard silver medal. She then led 13-year-old Fu to a platform gold at Barcelona 1992 and turned Fu into China's biggest-ever diving star with doubles titles at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
She left the national team in 1996 due to a bust-up with diving officials and single-handedly established a successful diving club at China's prestigious Tsinghua University two years later.
Yu continued her success at a college level. She helped the retired Fu rediscover her form, then sent her back to the national team and ont to another Olympic gold at the Sydney Games in 2000. Yu also turned a group of student-divers into the nation's best before they, too, returned to the national team.
There are now five Tsinghua divers including He Zi, Lin Yue, Zhou Luxin, Wang Xin and Yang Liguang in the national team. All are world champions, and all are gold-medal favorites for the Beijing Games.
However, Yu is not only remembered as a coach, but also a maverick who openly criticized China's state-supported sports system for not providing young divers with a proper education.
She once threatened to take her club divers abroad because they were not allowed to take part in any major tournaments. She also planned to sue the national swimming administration center for not supporting her in trying to win back her divers, who moved to other teams in order to pursue their goals.
After years of competing with the old system, Yu has now adopted a softer approach.
"I hope my training methods can become a new part of the national system," she said.
With less than eight months before the Beijing Games, many fear her return will cause friction with other national coaches.
Yu shrugged off such concerns.
"For those divers who were growing up under my coaching at Tsinghua University, I know their techniques and potential very well. If I come back, I will train them scientifically and help enhance their competitiveness in the Olympic pool."
So far China's swimming officials have not responded to Yu's application. They refused her one year ago when she made a similar offer.
