OLYMPICS /
Team China
All I want for my 16th birthday - China's diver
By Lei Lei
China Daily/The Olympian Staff Writer
Updated: 2008-08-12 11:28
Wang Xin will be looking to cap her birthday Monday with a gold in today's 10m women's synchronized diving. Wang, who's 16, will start with 15-year-old partner Chen Ruolin.
Wang Xin (left) and Chen Ruolin. [China Daily]
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China will be looking for its third successive gold medal in the event since the competition was included in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Game.
Sang Xue and Li Na took the gold in Australia while Lao Lishi and Li Ting triumphed in the Athens 2004 Games.
Chen won the gold medal at the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne with her former partner Jia Tong.
She has since teamed up with Wang, and they already have a series of titles under their belt, including the 16th FINA Diving World Cup in Feb this year. The two are also the current world No 1 and 2, respectively, in the individual event on the platform.
Chen, who was recruited into the Chinese "Dream Team" at the age of 12 by national team manager Zhou Jihong, says she not only has her eye on today's event but on the individual title also.
"I am confident bringing back two gold medals at the Beijing Games. I will work hard on every dive instead of caring too much about results," she says.
Their biggest challenge will come from Briony Cole and Melissa Wu from Australia. They were the runners-up at the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne and finished in second place twice at the Grand Prix this year.
Mexican divers Tatiana Ortiz and Paola Espinosa from Mexico came third in all legs of the world series this year. They will also pose a difficult challenge today. Ortiz is ranked seventh in the world, while her partner is ranked tenth.
The 2007 world championships bronze medalist Nora Subschinski from Germany will also have an eye on a podium place. She paired up with new partner Stefanie Anthes to compete in Beijing.
Other medal contenders include the 2005 world championship bronze medalists Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion from Canada and Marybeth Dunnichay and Haley Ishimatsu from the US.