Three-Time Olympic Champion Quan Hongchan Opens Up on Near-Retirement, Eating One Meal a Day Under Public Scrutiny

"Every day, people would call me fat. But I was already starving."

Quan Hongchan has three Olympic gold medals. She is 19 years old. And for most of the past year, she was eating one meal a day, dreaming of falling off the platform, and thinking about quitting the sport that made her famous.

In a candid interview with People magazine, the youngest triple Olympic champion in diving history spoke publicly for the first time about a year that nearly broke her.

The 19-year-old diving sensation, who became a household name after her near-perfect performance at the Tokyo 2020 Games, said the year 2025 was the most difficult of her career – not because of competition, but because of her body.

Between Tokyo and Paris, Quan's body moved through its first major developmental phase – she grew seven centimeters, gained six kilograms. She cut her food down to one meal a day. Sometimes less. She trained harder to compensate.

Her weight kept rising anyway.

"I was starving to the point of collapse," she said, "but the numbers just wouldn't drop."

She stopped wearing skirts. She avoided mirrors. The scale became something she could no longer look at. "Just seeing it terrified me. I developed a psychological shadow."

"I couldn't accept being this heavy," she said.

The psychological toll affected her training. She began to fear dives that once came naturally. "Even the movements I wasn't afraid of before – I became scared of them," she admitted. She often dreamed of falling off the platform.

Beyond the physical struggles, Quan spoke openly about the emotional weight of online abuse.

"On New Year's Eve this year, I was at home alone, played some video games, and went to bed early," she said. "The next day, many people texted me 'Happy New Year.' I want to be happy too. But more than that, I hope those who attack me will stop cursing me, stop cursing my family, and stop cursing my friends. Otherwise, they'll all stay away from me."

She described herself as standing at a crossroads. "Diving is no longer my whole world," she said. Beyond winning and losing, she now faces the unrelenting pressure that comes with fame and internet stardom.

Reflecting on the many labels attached to her – genius, mentally strong, lucky, big-hearted – Quan offered a more grounded self-assessment.

"Everyone asks me, 'If you stop diving, what will you do? Go to school? Become a coach?'" she said. "I've thought about all of it. But I'm not sure about anything. Right now, I just want to rest. I want to adjust my state, take a good break, and figure out what comes next."

She admitted that adulthood has not been easy and said she misses the cheerful, carefree girl she used to be. But she hopes that after a proper rest, she will find her way forward.

Quan Hongchan was born on March 28, 2007. She began learning to dive at age seven, joined the Guangdong provincial team at 11, and was selected for the national team at 13.

She won gold in the women's 10m platform at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics at just 14 years old. At the Paris 2024 Games, she captured two gold medals – one in the individual 10m platform and another in the synchronized 10m platform – making her the youngest triple Olympic champion in diving history.

In September 2025, she enrolled as a freshman at Jinan University, stepping away from the pool and into a new chapter of life.

"It's not easy being an adult," she said. "But I want to find myself again – after a good rest."