China Completes Sweep of All 13 Diving Gold Medals at 2022 Worlds

2022 World Aquatics Championships – Diving

• Budapest, Hungary
• Diving: June 26-July 3
• Meet Central
• Results

Jian Yang repeated as world champion in the men’s 10-meter platform final on Sunday, completing a perfect 13-for-13 sweep of diving golds over eight days at the 2022 World Championships.

It’s the second Worlds in a row where China has triumphed in every diving event that it entered. In 2019, China brought home 12 golds and did not compete in one of the mixed-gender synchro events that isn’t in the Olympics. At the 2011 World Championships, before mixed-gender synchro events were added to the slate, China won all 10 events. They’ve never topped the podium in every event at the Olympics, coming one short in 2008, 2016, and 2021.

Jian Yang had to rally from seventh place after botching a triple twisting forward 2½ in the third round. He retook the lead in the fifth round before sealing his victory with a 4.1 DD, the most difficult dive of the entire competition, that gave him 515.55 total points. Japanese teen Rikuto Tamai snagged silver with 488 points and China’s Hao Yang secured bronze with 485.45 points. 

“It’s pressure, but I made it,” Jian Yang said. “I withstood the pressure.”

It was Jian Yang’s first medal in Budapest this week and Hao Yang’s second after winning gold in the men’s 10-meter synchro on Tuesday. 

Earlier on Sunday, the Chinese duo of Yiwen Chen and Yani Chang led from start to finish in the women’s 3-meter synchro final for the country’s 12th gold medal of the meet. Chen and Chang took gold and bronze, respectively, in Saturday’s individual 3-meter event. China has now won 12 of the 13 women’s 3-meter synchro finals, all except for its debut in 1998. 

Japan’s Rin Kaneto and Sayaka Mikami (303 points) held off the Australian pair of Maddison Keeney and Anabelle Smith (294.12 points) for silver. Keeney and Smith were less than one point behind Kaneto and Mikami before the final round of diving. 

“This silver medal is a big hope for Paris [2024 Olympics],” said the 18-year-old Kaneto, who was returning from a shoulder injury.

The U.S. left Budapest with three diving medals. Sarah Bacon claimed silver in the women’s 1-meter springboard, Delaney Schnell and Katrina Young earned silver in the women’s 10-meter synchro, and Carson Tyler took bronze along with Schnell in the mixed 10-meter synchro. It was the first time since the 2009 World Championships that American divers brought home multiple silver medals. Only Great Britain had more silver medals than the U.S. with three. 

Final Diving Medals Table