Retired China diving ‘queen’ Guo Jingjing off to Tokyo as Olympic judge
- Hong Kong resident from Hebei province due in Japan with city’s delegation
- Gold medallist to be on ‘diving technical committee’ and expected to mark events
Sometimes referred to as China’s “princess” or “queen” of diving, she retired from her sport a decade ago after a 22-year career, mainly in 3-metre springboard events.
Due to travel to Japan next week with Hong Kong’s delegation, Guo is thought to be the only retired Chinese Olympian to be a judge in the 2021 games.
Guo, 39, lives in Hong Kong with her husband Kenneth Fok Kai-kong – entrepreneur, politician and the city’s Olympic committee vice-president – and their three children.
Guo said in a recent Weibo post that she was looking forward to “appreciating the charm of this sport from another angle – as a member of the diving technical committee”. Not all committee members judge performances but Guo will be one of those that does.
She said the decision to take part in this year’s Games was not an easy one. “I was rather worried as the pandemic escalated. I could not make up my mind whether to go or not, as I still have children at home,” Guo said during the Hong Kong Book Fair on Thursday, adding that she would be judging events.
She was at the event with her husband, who has been working on a parenting book. “I finally decided to go to Tokyo as it is all for work,” said Guo.
No 3: Guo Jingjing
She was born in 1981 in the city of Baoding, about 140km (90 miles) from Beijing. She was a seven-year-old schoolgirl when she was spotted by influential diving coach Yu Fen.
Guo is among the most-decorated Olympic divers and the fourth to win four Olympic golds. At her retirement in 2011 she was the female diver with the most Olympic medals.
Guo made her Olympic debut at Atlanta in 1996. She earned two silver medals at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney followed by two golds in 2004 in Athens – one for the 3m synchronised springboard, along with diving partner Wu Minxia, and the other for the 3m springboard.
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Four years later, on Guo’s home turf, she clinched two Olympic golds in the same events she had dominated in Athens. She was also victorious in many other international arenas including the World Championships and Asian Games.
Wu won a record fifth diving gold at the Rio Games in 2016. Chen Ruolin, another female Chinese diver, also won a fifth gold at Rio.
Guo married Fok, son of Hong Kong Olympic committee chief Timothy Fok Tsun-ting and grandson of the late billionaire Henry Fok Ying-tung, in 2012 after an eight-year romance in the media spotlight.
Henry Fok's grandson ties knot with diving queen Guo Jingjing in HK$15 million wedding
The celebrity couple now tries to keep a low profile with life centred around their children. Guo has immersed herself in charity work. She is an ambassador for Unicef Hong Kong and the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, as well as an ocean ambassador for WWF-Hong Kong.
Guo started a personal account on the Chinese social media site Weibo last month and showed her support for Tokyo-bound Chinese divers in a June 21 post. “The Olympics bear special meaning for me. I hope the Chinese diving dream team can bring superb performances and glory at the Tokyo Games,” she wrote.
The 10-member Chinese diving team (comprising both men and women) includes well-tested female veterans Shi Tingmao and Wang Han. Nine of the 10 are Olympic or world champions. Only relative newcomer Quan Hongchan, female and 14, the same age Guo was for her first Olympics, is not.
Over the past few years, Shi and Wang have dominated most world titles in women’s 3m events. The two hope to continue that dominance in Tokyo.
As for male divers, Cao Yuan took gold for the 3m springboard and bronze for the 3m synchronised springboard at Rio in 2016. This time around the diving star will challenge himself in the 10-metre platform event with world champion Yang Jian.
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Cao Yuan will also team up with Chen Aisen – who also claimed two golds in Rio – in the men’s 10-metre synchronised event.
The Olympic comeback of diving queen Guo has excited many Chinese netizens. “Imagine when Guo watches the performance of divers at the Tokyo Games, she will probably think – ‘is that it’?!” joked one Weibo user.
“The first thought that came to my mind is how great Guo Jingjing is and how proud I am of her,” wrote another user. “The next second, I want to remind her to stay healthy and safe.”
