The 2026 World Aquatics Diving World Cup Finals continued on May 2 at the National Aquatics Center (“Water Cube”) in Beijing, with Chinese divers Wang Zongyuan and Jiang Linjing claiming gold in the men’s 3m springboard and women’s 10m platform, respectively. Unlike other international diving competitions, the World Cup Finals feature a new “one-on-one” knockout format for individual events, requiring male athletes to complete 12 dives within a single day—a significant test of endurance and focus. Even the formidable Chinese diving team needs time to adapt to this demanding structure.
**Men’s 3m Springboard: Gold and Silver for China, Athletes Still Adjusting**
According to the schedule, individual events kicked off on May 2 with the new format. The 12 divers were paired based on their rankings from previous World Cup stops, competing in a preliminary round of three dives to determine the six who advanced to the semifinals. The semifinals adopted a cumulative scoring system, adding preliminary scores to the remaining dives (three for men, two for women). The top two from each semifinal group, totaling four divers, progressed to the final. In the final, all previous scores were reset, and the four athletes completed their full set of required dives (six for men, five for women), with the total score determining the champion.
In the men’s 3m springboard, China fielded Wang Zongyuan and Zheng Jiuyuan, who had previously won gold in the synchronized 3m event. Wang delivered a more consistent performance, scoring 544.35 points to take gold, while Zheng earned silver, ensuring China’s fourth consecutive World Cup Finals gold in this discipline.
Wang Zongyuan and Zheng Jiuyuan swept the gold and silver in the men’s 3m springboard. Photo by Wang Fei for The Beijing News.
Regarding the new format, everyone needs some time to adapt. Wang Zongyuan admitted he was not fully in his rhythm at the start of the knockout rounds but knew he had six more dives in the final to find his groove. “This competition’s rules are different from before, and I still need to get used to them,” he said. “Overall, my performance was acceptable.”
Zheng Jiuyuan also confessed to struggling with the pace initially, only finding his familiar rhythm in the final. He noted that last year he was in Group A in the semifinals, but this year he was in Group B, requiring him to wait for the three divers before him to finish. “I thought Group B would dive first, but it turned out we had to dive consecutively within the same group. I was still resting and got pulled up to dive—I really need to understand the rules thoroughly,” Zheng said.
**Jiang Linjing: Going Solo to Gold, Vows to Stay Calmer in Future**
In the women’s 10m platform event that evening, Jiang Linjing, who turns 16 this month, claimed the gold medal. She also acknowledged the need to adapt to the new format.
The women’s 10m platform has long been a highlight, dominated by Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi in recent Olympic cycles from Tokyo to Paris. However, for this World Cup Finals, Quan Hongchan is absent, and Chen Yuxi only competed in the women’s synchronized 10m platform.
Initially, China planned to field Jiang Linjing and Cui Jiaxi in the individual event, but Cui withdrew unexpectedly, leaving Jiang as the sole Chinese competitor. Jiang led the preliminary round but made mistakes on both of her semifinal dives. Fortunately, she regained her composure in the final, leading throughout all five dives to win with 397.95 points.
Jiang Linjing (right) won the women’s 10m platform gold. Photo by Wang Fei for The Beijing News.
Competing at the Water Cube for the first time, Jiang felt immense pressure. “It’s such a large venue, and I told myself to believe in myself,” she said. However, she still felt the strain during the competition and admitted she didn’t show her best self. After the third dive in the preliminaries, she checked the scores, thinking she could just dive normally in the semifinals, but she made mistakes on both of her semifinal dives. “My training performances were better than today. This was a real test,” she said.
Jiang noted that the combination of a new venue and a new format required time to adjust. “I was a bit too excited in the preliminaries and semifinals—I couldn’t control my dives well and let my focus slip. I need to be more composed,” she explained. Regarding the one-on-one format, she said she had never tried it before and will need to train specifically for it in the future.
The competition concludes on May 3 with the women’s 3m springboard and men’s 10m platform finals, where two more gold medals will be decided.