Mexico looks for its next diving “rey” or “reina” in Guadalajara
Mexican athletes have won a medal in diving at every edition of the Olympic Games since Beijing 2008. However, you’d have to rewind the clock back to the Olympic Games Melbourne 1956 to find the last time a Mexican diver won a gold medal at the Olympics (Joaquín Capilla – men’s 10 platform).
Juan Manuel Celaya Hernández and Osmar Olvera Ibarra came close to ending that statistic for the diving obsessed nation at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, finishing 2.07 points shy of Olympic champions Long Daoyi and Wang Zongyuan in the men’s 3m springboard synchronised competition.
They’ll look to capitalize on home support and top the judges scorecards in Guadalajara, as diving’s finest return to the Latin American nation for the first time in nearly 12 years. However, they’ll be far from the only home favourites looking to turn the competition into a celebratory fiesta.
Nineteen-year-old rising star Alejandra Estudillo Torres – recently crowned NCAA 3m springboard champion – will look to start her sophomore Olympic campaign with a flourish, seeking to better a fourth-place finish at last year’s super final.
The teenager will need to be in picture-perfect form to beat the likes of Chen Yiwen, Maddison Keeney and Chang Yani – who formed the women’s podium at Paris 2024, in that order – to put her name alongside other Mexican diving greats, such as Paola Espinosa and Alejandra Orozco.
With nine events on tap, and plenty of familiar faces dotting the entry lists, expect nothing less than fireworks, exciting battles and mind-boggling acrobatics to open the season.
