Quan is the youngest athlete among China’s delegation at the Games, and sealed the country’s 33rd gold medal in Tokyo.

She simply blew away the competition, delivering three perfect-10 dives and achieved a record-breaking overall score of 466.20, more than 40 points ahead of her 15-year-old teammate Chen Yuxi, who won silver.

Born on March 28, 2007 in the Mazhang district of Zhenjiang, Guangdong, Quan became the second-youngest Chinese Olympic gold medallist in diving, behind only Fu Mingxia, who won the 10m platform gold at Barcelona 1992, aged 13.

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14-year-old Chinese diver’s Olympic gold a story of her rise above poverty to perfect score

14-year-old Chinese diver’s Olympic gold a story of her rise above poverty to perfect score

The age threshold was later raised to 14 by international swimming governing body Fina (and Fu later became a Hong Kong household name after she married former financial secretary Antony Leung Kam-chung in 2002).

Less than a year after joining the Chinese national team, Quan made her international debut this week. But she had already plunged headlong into instant fame across China by beating Rio 2016 champion Ren Qian, world champion Zhang Jiaqi and Chen in the Olympic trials as she punched her ticket to Tokyo.

When she spoke to the press after her momentous win, she told them candidly she did not get cold feet, but instead remained calm throughout the competition.

Chinese diver Quan, 14, wins 10m platform final with three perfect 10s

“It seems there is no difference between the Olympics and national competitions. My coach told me to relax and don’t be nervous before the Games,” she said, admitting she felt more nervous about facing so many reporters in the media room than performing her plunges.

Quan chose to learn diving when she was seven years old, attending the Zhanjiang Sports School where each day she trained three to four hours, and practised 400 dives.

She confessed she had a simple impulse to go into the sport – she did not like classes, and thought she could just dive as a substitute for school.

“I feel like I was cheated into starting diving. It’s mainly because I don’t like to go to school, and my grades are poor, but it feels good to dive,” Quan said after her win.

“The Olympic Games is just to do five dives. Thinking about each movement and performing your dive well is good enough,” she added.

Despite little information being known about Quan, Chinese netizens – amazed by her talent and skill – have been lapping up every little snippet of her life she has shared.

Even her name Hongchan, which means “red beauty”, caught their attention.

Her sleek performance on Thursday, where she barely caused a ripple on the water’s surface during her five dives, left spectators in awe, with some remarking that “even dumplings make bigger splashes”.

The humble girl has also a sense of humour. When asked about her secrets to such sleek rip entry, she replied with an impish smile: “I don’t know, I haven’t compared myself to dumplings!”

He Weiyi, Quan’s coach at the Guangdong diving team, described her victory as a “miracle”.

“She is at light speed,” he said. “It’s not easy for her to fulfil her dream and get such an excellent result in just three years.”

Covering her face with the gold medal, Quan gave thanks to her parents, saying they had also told her not to be nervous. “They said it doesn’t matter if I get a medal or not. Just be myself. Those words really helped me,” she said.

Quan comes from a humble, rural family. Both of her parents are farmers, but her mother was involved in a traffic accident several years ago, and has been hospitalised multiple times.

The household relies heavily on her father, but she told local media she wants to help out with her mother’s medical bills.

Reporters repeatedly asked questions about her mother at the press conference, but Quan shrugged them off, saying, “I don’t want to answer”.

“My mum is ill. I don’t know what illness she has got. I just want to make money to get her medical treatment, because my family needs a lot of money to cure her illness,” she said.

She also told reporters she wants to eat spicy stick Latiao – a common local snack in China made of wheat flour and chilli – to celebrate her achievements. Her mother previously told Chinese state-run outlet Xinhua that Quan’s biggest wish is to open a tuck shop “so that she can eat a lot of snacks”.

Quan also told her adoring media that, like many other youngsters in China, she also loves to play the country’s popular online game, Honour of Kings, in her leisure time. But when it comes to gaming, her tender years have become an obstacle for the champion.

“Unfortunately there is an age limit, so I can only play two games. It’s not enough,” she said.

The Rupert Murdoch-owned News.com.au had written Quan “remained entirely pokerfaced” and “did not crack even the slimmest of smiles” after one of her three perfect-10 dives. That prompted the Global Times to jump to her defence, accusing the website of a “lack of basic human touch”, and trying to “describe this young gold medallist as an odd, taciturn teenager”.

Whether the newspaper overreacted or not, it certainly seems China has a new sporting darling.

As of Friday, China have won six gold medals and four silvers in diving at the Tokyo Games. The country has long been dominant in women’s diving events, claiming every gold since 2008. The record broken by Quan was also held by a Chinese athlete, Chen Ruolin, who achieved 447.70 at the Beijing Games.

China can probably expect a lot more gold medals, and a lot more broken records, from its new diving superstar before she walks away from the sport and sets up that tuck shop.