Wednesday, August 6, 2008

The Chinese don't like divers as much as they like winners, and Guo has done almost nothing but win. Since taking two silver medals at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, the 26-year-old has won two gold medals -- on the three-meter springboard in both the individual and synchronized events -- at the world championships in 2001, '03, '05 and '07, not to mention the pair she won in Athens four years ago.

Such success has put unusual focus on Guo, who now draws as much attention for her out-of-pool escapades as for her accomplishments in it. At the 2004 Games, she dated fellow diver Tian Liang. Since then, she has been linked to the son of a Hong Kong business tycoon as well as to a Canadian-Chinese singer named Edison Chen. In May, a rumor shot through the Chinese media that Guo was pregnant and would leave the Chinese team before the Olympics.

This will be the final competition for Guo, who has announced her impending retirement. There are, though, no guarantees she'll go out in glory. She lost to her synchro partner, Wu Minxia, in a test event earlier this year. Is it possible China's "diving queen" will be stripped of her crown?

-- Barry Svrluga