A 14-year-old gold medal diver who blew away the field with a bunch of perfect 10s is only competing
- Quan Hongchan earned a perfect score in the Tokyo Olympics women's 10 meter platform, taking gold.
- Quan is so young that the games not been postponed because of COVID, she wouldn't have been allowed to compete.
- Aged just 13 last summer, she fell under the minimum age requirement from FINA, the watersports governing body.
The star of the women's 10 meter platform diving would not have been able to compete had the Tokyo Olympics gone ahead as planned in 2020.
China's Quan Hongchan recorded a perfect score for her second and fourth dives with all seven judges giving her a 10, blowing way the field and giving her a sensational gold.
Amazingly though, Quan's presence at the Olympics would not have been possible this time last year, when the games were originally scheduled to take place.
The games were delayed for a year by the the COVID pandemic, giving the then-13-year-old Quan the chance to compete at her first Olympics.
There is no overall age limit to compete at the games, but each sport is governed by its own federation, many of which do set minimum age requirements.
In diving, the restriction is set at 14 years of age meaning, Quan, whose 14th birthday was in March, would not have been able to compete had the games taken place last year.
The postponement meant that Quan could compete, and she took that opportunity with both hands. Her performance dominated the field and her overall score of 466.20 points was well clear of second-place and fellow Chinese diver Yuxi Chen's 425.40.
After winning the gold, the teenager dedicated her win to her ill mother.
"I want to make enough money to support her," she said, per the Associated Press. "I listen to my coach very carefully and follow his instructions very carefully."
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