Cao Yuan (Chinese: 曹缘; pinyin: Cáo Yuán; born 7 February 1995) is a Chinese diver and an Olympic gold medalist, having won four golds, one silver and one bronze in the Olympics. He has also won golds in diving at the World Championships and World Cups. Cao is considered the best male diver of all time.[1]
Early life
Cao Yuan was born on February 7, 1995 in Hunan province.[2] Cao Yuan started diving at age five. His mother wanted him to learn discipline, so she enrolled him in diving classes.[3]
His life motto is "Go your own way and see your own scenery. Be calm for life's ups and downs."[3]
Career
Cao Yuan is the only diver in history to win 3 gold medals in a single World Diving Series event by winning gold medals in 3m synchro, 10m synchro, and 10m individual events of the 2014 World Diving Series in Canada.
Cao Yuan together with Yue Lin are the only divers to ever win two World Series gold medals on the same day of the competition by winning the 3m synchro and 10m synchro events on 30 May 2014.
In 2017, at the World Championships in Budapest, Cao won silver pairing with Xie Siyi in the 3m synchro. In the 2018 World Cup, he won a gold in the 3m synchro with Xie, as well as a silver in the individual 3m springboard.[7]
At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Cao and teammate Aisen Chen won silver in men's synchronized 10m platform.[10] He also won gold in individual 10m platform with 582.35 points.[11]
At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, he won the gold medal at the 10m platform event, capping off China's perfect eight-gold medal performance. Cao became the first athlete since Greg Louganis to win consecutive gold medals in this event.[12]
Accolades
In 2014, he was named the Male Diver of the Year by the International Swimming Federation (FINA). He was again given the accolade in 2018.[13]
He received the 4 May Youth Medal of Beijing in the People's Republic of China in 2014.[14]