‘Irresponsible’ loss steels China’s 3m springboard diving king Qin Kai in quest for record third straight Olympic gold
The 30-year-old is looking to become the first man to win three gold medals in the event – each time with a different partner
China’s Qin Kai, who almost quit diving after the 2012 Olympic Games in London, has promised not to be “irresponsible” again as he seeks to become the first man to win three gold medals in the synchronised 3m springboard event – each time with a different partner.
Qin and Cao Yuan were beaten by Germany’s Stephan Feck and Patrick Hausding at the Fina World Cup meet Rio de Janeiro in January – his only defeat in nine major meetings before the Olympics.
Having experienced a loss in Rio before, Qin is keen not to do it again. “I was irresponsible,” Qin was quoted as saying.
The 30-year-old won the 2008 Beijing Games gold with Wang Feng and partnered Luo Yutong to victory in London four years later.
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But he was also on the verge of quitting the sport in 2012 after he could only manage a silver medal in the 3m individual springboard in London after losing to Russia’s Ilya Zakharov and preventing China from sweeping all eight diving gold medals.