Wu Minxia gets interviewed after her win. (Photo : FINA/YouTube)
Talk about beating one’s own self again and again.
Wu Minxia bagged the gold for the eighth consecutive time at the 16th FINA World Championships 2015 held in Kazan, Russia.
Together with the 23-year-old Shi Tingmao, the 29-year-old diver ranked number one at the women's synchronized three-meter springboard competition.
Canada’s Jennifer Abel and Pamela Ware and Australia’s Samantha Mills and Esther Qin came in at second and third, respectively.
Wu and Shi garnered 312.90 points during the preliminary round and 351.30 points at the final round. The Canadian divers got 302.01 and 319.47 points, and the Australian divers received 291.90 and 304.20 points.
Wu brought glory to China by making it the only country to win eight times in a row in the diving competition of the FINA World Championships or World Aquatics Championships. As for herself, she set a record for being the first diver to win in the eight consecutive editions of the world championships.
The Shanghai native is a four-time Olympic gold medalist. She received her first gold medal in the three-meter synchronized springboard competition at the 9th FINA World Swimming Championships or the 2001 World Aquatics Championships held in Fukuoka, Japan.
Wu represented the country in the Olympic Games, FINA World Championships and Asian Games. So far, she has won a total of 23 gold, 11 silver and three bronze medals.
The 5-foot-6-inch diver told Xinhua that she is not always mindful of the number of medals she has. “I just care about my performance,” Wu said.
Xinhua reported that Zhou Jihong, Wu’s coach, provided her the much-needed encouragement, especially when she said that she “almost wanted to give up.”
Despite her previous injuries, and notwithstanding that she will turn 30 on Nov. 10, it seems as if there is no stopping Wu from competing again next year.
