The 21-year-old English elite diver Eden Cheng is representing Great Britain continuously as the Paris Olympics is also coming. At the age of 15, she took home her first significant medal in 2018. As of 2024, she qualified for the forthcoming Summer Olympics in Paris after winning the gold medal at the European Championships.
Eden Cheng claimed gold in the European Games 2023 to secure the Paris 2024 quota for Britain
Eden Cheng, a 20-year-old diver from Great Britain, won the gold medal in the women’s 10m platform diving competition at the European Games 2023, held on June 23rd. She finished ahead of Christina Wassen from Germany and Sarah Jodoin Di Maria from Italy.
Cheng was in fourth place going into the final round. To win the gold, she needed to score more than 73 points and perform the highest-scoring dive of the day. She achieved this by scoring 73.60 points with her back 2.5 somersaults, 1.5 twists routine. Her total score of 331.60 points earned Great Britain their first diving gold medal at the 2023 European Games.
he 20-year-old Cheng started diving in 2012, inspired by watching the London Olympics in her hometown. After her thrilling performance in Poland, she may now have the opportunity to compete in her own Olympic Games.
Cheng’s gold medal was the second gold for Team GB at these European Games, following Kieran Reilly’s win in the men’s BMX freestyle event on Thursday. However, her victory also secured a valuable Olympic quota spot for Great Britain in the 10m platform event at the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics.
“It means everything,”
“I told you last year about how I have chronic ankle pain every single day & at the start of this year I didn’t even think I would be diving. To be selected for this event was an achievement, so this is just the cherry on the cake & to get the Olympic place for Great Britain is so great!”
she said
Eden Cheng’s Early Life and Upbringing in London
Eden Cheng was born on December 2, 2002, in London to parents who were immigrants from China. She attended Alleyn’s School in Dulwich, London, and before that, she went to Streatham and Clapham Prep School. Eden’s height is 5 feet 3 inches.
Her mother’s name is Simon, and her father’s name is Vivian Cheng. She has one older sister named Abigail. Eden chose to go to UCLA because she felt it was a very good school with excellent athletic and academic programs. Her greatest athletic achievement before going to UCLA was competing at the Olympic and World Championships.
Eden looks up to Tom Daley and enjoys photography and playing with her dog Bailey. When she was young, Eden performed in multiple operas as a child actor at the Royal Opera House in London. She plans to major in mathematics with computations.
Eden took up diving in 2012 after being inspired by watching the London Olympics. She joined Crystal Palace Diving, where she trained under coach Chen Lin.
Eden started competing as a junior diver in 2013 and won several National Championships. She competed at the National Age Group Championships and won the 3m Springboard event in 2016.
In 2022, Eden moved to California and joined the UCLA women’s diving team.
Eden Cheng Diving Career
Eden Cheng Starting Career
Eden Cheng’s Diving Career
Cheng’s Early Career
Eden Cheng started competing as a junior diver in 2013 and won several National Championships. In 2016, she competed at the National Age Group Championships and won the gold medal in the 3m Springboard event.
In 2017, Eden took part in her first British Junior Elite Championships and won the gold medal. That same year, she made her debut at a European championship, representing Great Britain at the Junior European Diving Championships in Bergen, Norway, where she won another gold medal.
Also Read: Paris Olympics 2024 (Team GB): Meet Canoeist Ryan Westley
Cheng began competing at the senior level in several FINA Grand Prix events in 2017, being one of the youngest divers chosen for these competitions. She won a silver medal in the Mixed 10m platform event with partner Kyle Kothari, as well as a bronze medal in the 10m Synchro event with partner Emily Martin, at an event in Singapore.
Professional Career
At her first senior competition, the 2018 European Championships in Glasgow/Edinburgh, 15-year-old Eden Cheng partnered with Lois Toulson in the women’s 10-meter synchronized platform event. She won her first senior international gold medal.
Cheng took part in her first World Championship in 2019 at the World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. She finished sixth in the 10-meter synchronized event with Toulson, as well as the team event with Ross Haslam. At the 2019 European Diving Championships in Kyiv, Cheng won a silver medal in the Mixed 10m platform synchronized event with Noah Williams and a bronze medal in the team event.
At the 2021 FINA Diving World Cup in Japan, which was a test event for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Cheng and Toulson won a silver medal in the synchronized 10m platform. This result secured their qualification for the Olympics. The pair also won a silver medal in the synchronized 10m platform at the European Championships. At the 2020 Olympics held in 2021, the pair finished seventh in the synchronized 10-meter platform event after a poor start.
At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Cheng partnered with Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix in the women’s 10m synchronized event, and they won a silver medal.
Some of Eden Cheng’s remarkable achievements are listed below:
- She is a new student (freshman) at UCLA.
- She won the silver medal in the 10-meter synchronized diving event at the 2021 FINA World Cup.
- She came in second place (runner-up) in the 10-meter synchronized diving event at the 2021 European Diving Championships.
- She is a member of the Crystal Palace Diving Club..
- She has won a total of seven medals in international diving competitions.
- She won the gold medal in the 10-meter synchronized platform diving event at the 2018 European Championships.
