Shi Tingmao
- Original name:
- Shi Tingting
Shi Tingmao (born August 31, 1991, Chongqing, China) is a Chinese diver who dominated in the 3-meter springboard and synchronized 3-meter springboard events at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Olympic Games and the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Shi won gold medals at two Olympic Games and at multiple FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation, now World Aquatics) world championships. FINA named her Best Female Diver of the Year six times—in 2015–19 and in 2021.
Early life
Shi began training in gymnastics when she was five years old. A few years later a diving coach noticed her acrobatic ability, and she switched sports. About that time Shi’s father changed her name from Tingting to Tingmao. Ting in Mandarin can mean “stop” or “stagnate.” He felt that was unlucky, so her grandfather picked the name mao, which means “hardworking.”
Shi joined the national team only after winning gold at the 2011 FINA world championships in Shanghai. According to Chinese media, this was due to enmity between Shi’s coach, Yu Fen, and Zhou Jihong, the head of China’s diving team.
When Shi was 15 years old she began training with the diving team at Tsinghua University in Beijing. She continued there for two years before moving back to Chongqing. Infighting between coaches delayed her appointment to the national team until 2012, when she was 21 years old.
Career
Shi’s first major win was at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. Shi won the gold medal in the synchronized 3-meter springboard and the silver medal in the 3-meter springboard. The next year, at the world championships in Shanghai, China, she won the gold medal in the 3-meter springboard. From that time on she won the majority of the major competitions that she entered, including World Cups, world championships, and the Asian Games.
The first Olympic Games that Shi participated in were the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She won the gold medal in the 3-meter springboard, scoring a combined 406.05 points for five dives. That score was almost 20 points ahead of the silver medalist, Chinese diver He Zi. Shi paired with teammate Wu Minxia to win the gold medal in the synchronized 3-meter springboard. The duo ended with a score of 345.60, more than 30 points higher than the silver medalists.
At the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics (held in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic), Shi defended her prior wins by capturing gold medals for the 3-meter springboard and the synchronized 3-meter springboard, the latter with teammate Wang Han. In the individual event, Shi won by a landslide, scoring more than 30 points above the silver medalist, Wang. In the synchronized event, Shi and Wang scored more than 20 points above their closest competitors. Later, Shi discussed her struggles with depression and self-confidence leading up to the 2020 Games, stating that she had been speaking to mental health professionals to manage her stress. Following the 2020 Olympics, Shi announced that she would be retiring from competitive diving and starting a coaching career.