SINGAPORE – As far as 19-year-olds go, Chinese diver Chen Yuxi might be one of the world’s most talented teenagers.

With 40 medals – 35 of those gold – before her 20th birthday in September, she proceeded to add her 36th title when she bulldozed her way to the women’s 10m platform crown at the World Aquatics Championships (WCH) on July 31.

After placing second at the 2024 edition in Doha, she reclaimed the title with a commanding performance of 430.50 points, finishing streets ahead of Germany’s Pauline Pfeif (367.10) and compatriot Xie Peiling (358.20).

It is her fourth time winning this event after similar successes in 2019, 2022 and 2023.

Despite being a serial winner, she was still emotional as she gave her coach a big hug upon learning of her latest victory at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.

“Even though it’s the fourth time, each win carries a different meaning,” said Chen, who is the diver with the most gold medals (three) at this year’s meet, with three days of competition left.

She added: “This past year has been a journey of growth and constant adjustments for me, so achieving this result today feels like a form of encouragement.”

After her first dive put her top of the pile, she slipped to second place when Xie performed a stellar dive of 91.20.

However, the Olympic silver medallist demonstrated that consistency is key as a series of well-executed dives left her competition in the dust, ultimately ending the final a whopping 63.40 points ahead of Pfeif, to the elation of her fans who made up the majority of the crowd.