Download It was in an ordinary Shanghai neighborhood 21 years ago that 5-year-old Wu Minxia's parents were agonizing over whether to send their little girl to a dance or diving team, after both had invited her. Her father said their inclination toward taking the diving team's offer was largely because the training facility was closer to home. "This simple decision changed Wu's life and, probably, China's history," Wu's father Wu Yuming said. Wu has won two gold medals at the 2017 London Olympics. She won in the individual 3m springboard and the synchronized springboard, which she had also won in Athens and Beijing. That's not to mention six gold medals in the world championships since 2001 and four in the Asian Games since 2002. International Swimming Federation communications department head Pedro Adrega said: "Wu always appeared to be the final's strongest and most regular diver." Her latest Olympic gold medals - bringing her tally to four, plus a silver in Athens and a bronze in Beijing - puts her name in the middle rank of Chinese diving legends, such as Gao Min, Fu Mingxia and Guo Jingjing. "People like to describe me as the 'leading lady' of the Chinese diving team," she told China Daily. "You must fight to prove yourself." She made the comments at 2 am after winning the 3m springboard. Sohu.com, one of China's biggest websites, found 87 percent of the 1,600 netizens it polled agreed Wu deserved the gold. |