?Wu Minxia. |
Wu Minxia will have no room for error as she pursues a record seventh Olympic diving medal in Rio, one she hopes will be part of a Chinese sweep of gold.
"I am looking forward to perfection on my competition day," Wu, whose six Olympic medals include four gold, said on arrival in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.
She and her teammates are touted as a threat to grab all eight diving golds on offer at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Center.
The closest they've come to such a sweep was in Beijing in 2008, when they won seven diving events. They won six in Athens in 2004 and again in London four years ago.
Wu took two of those London golds, in the 3-meter springboard and the synchronized 3m springboard with He Zi.
This time around, the 30-year-old will compete only in the synchronized event with Shi Tingmao, so she'll have just one chance to surpass the record of six diving medals amassed by her "big sister" and former teammate Guo Jingjing — a mark Wu equalled in 2012.
Despite the strength of the Chinese team, Wu said the outdoor diving venue could make for unexpected challenges.
"I know I may encounter difficult situations here, including the cold conditions. But I have to accept the difficulties and try to cope with them well," said Wu, who will be competing in her fourth Olympics.
The Chinese swept all four women's events in London, but American David Boudia denied Qiu Bo in the men's 10m platform and Russian Ilya Zakharov snatched the springboard gold over Qin Kai.