Divers

Greg Louganis was born to high-school students and was raised by his adoptive parents. Before becoming a renowned diver, he had studied drama and excelled in dance and gymnastics. The four-time Olympic gold medalist is HIV-positive and an LGBT icon. His memoir, Breaking the Surface, was made into a TV movie.

Olympic gold medal-winning Australian diver Matthew Mitcham initially competed as a trampoline gymnast, too, and trained in both the sports for a while. He holds the all-time Olympic record for the 2nd highest single-dive score. Openly gay, he is also an LGBTQ icon and the first known gay Olympic gold medalist.

Guo Jingjing is a Chinese former diver best known for her performance at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics where she won two gold medals at each event. She has also won two Olympic silver medals and is currently tied with Wu Minxia for winning the most number of Olympic medals for any female diver.

Fu Mingxia is a Chinese retired diver who won the platform-diving world championship title at the age of 12, becoming the youngest diving champion of all time. She is also one of the youngest diving champions at the Olympics, she won a gold medal at the age of 13 in Barcelona Olympics in 1992. Fu finished her career with four Olympic gold medals and two World Championships.

Two-time Olympic medalist Pandelela Rinong was scouted for state diving at the age of 7. Born into a modest family of a contractor, she initially dreamed of becoming an air stewardess and of traveling the world. She scripted history as the first Malaysian female to win an Olympic medal.

Wu Minxia is a Chinese former professional diver who has five Olympic gold medals, eight World Championship titles, and five Asian Games gold medals under her belt. She has also won Olympic silver and bronze, which makes her one of the most successful female divers in the history of modern Olympics. Wu is also one of China’s most celebrated divers.

Nur Dhabitah Sabri is a Malaysian professional diver best known for winning three bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games, including two medals at the 2018 Games in Gold Coast, Queensland. She has also won several gold medals at the Southeast Asian Games. In 2017, Nur Dhabitah Sabri was chosen to light up the cauldron at the Southeast Asian Games.

Malaysian diver Cheong Jun Hoong is not just an Olympic silver medalist but has also scripted history by becoming the first Malaysian diving world champion. She began training in aquatics at age 4 and focused on diving at age 9. She was apparently dropped from the national team due to budget cuts.