26 Year old Wu Minxia won her second gold medal at the Olympic Games in London this past Sunday; with 414.00 points, Wu took first in the three-meter springboard competition. After Wu’s big win, she was asked if she thought that her successful career in the pool was worth all of the family sacrifices that she has made. Through a translator, Wu Minxia said “Well first of all, I haven’t died, you know?”

Debate arose in London after it was discovered that Chinese diver, Wu Minxia, had not been informed for a whole year of her grandparent’s passing. Since Minxia was away from home training for the Olympics, her parents decided that it was best not disturb her training. If that was not enough, it was for the same reason that Wu did not know about her mother’s long-term battle with cancer.


“…I think everyone has a dream, and I choose to dive, and I want to make some difference,” said Olympic Chinese diver. “It’s not me, only, who achieved those results. There are so many people supporting me, including my family, my coach and everyone probably not known to the world.”

In Chinese culture, family bonds are sacred and are honored in a high respect with each member. Wu Minxia was dedicated to a dream that she made a long time ago to be a great Chinese diver; her family knew her potential and has supported her with the valued respect and honor that their culture has given to each other for centuries.
In a translation provided by Agence France-Press, Wu Minxia’s father was quoted, “We’ve known for years that our daughter doesn’t belong to us anymore.”

There are many elite athletes with stories of sacrifice. Thankfully, with all of the new technology today, Wu Minxia, along the many other Olympians that have to leave home, can stay in close touch with their families. It has been a true family sacrifice that this Chinese diver has had to make as well as her family’s sacrifice to her; but Wu Minxia believes that it has all been worth it.

“My future Olympic goals? This Olympic Games, for me, is just a starting point,” Minxia said. “I’m very, very happy today with my achievements, and I think I have reached such a point that I can stand here, and I can look upwards now.”

Wu says that if she gets a holiday she will go home straight away to her family, but until then, her father touchingly said, “We know her [tweets] can’t give us much information, but reading them ensures that we are at peace. If we see she’s okay, then we are happy … She doesn’t call a lot. She’s too busy training.”

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