Those who understand the sport know that Quan Hongchan is a combination of talent and dedication with a reputation as a fierce perfectionist. Her hard work, combined with her natural diving skills, brought her Olympic glory again at the age of 17.

At just 17, Quan won her second gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday and the third of her young career, maintaining China's unblemished record in the sport in the French capital. The day before, she had won gold in the 10m platform synchronised event with compatriot Chen Yuxi, and both divers took the top two positions in a duel for their country's dominance.

Quan's first dive scored a perfect 10 across the board. It was a one-two for China in the women's 10m platform. It was a flawless performance. The crowd applauded the reigning queen's performance.

An emotional Quan won with a total of 425.60 points. Her teammate Chen Yuxi took silver with 420.70 points. North Korea's Kim Mi Rae took the bronze with 372.10 points.

Quan's precocity allowed her to win the 10m platform at the Tokyo Olympics at the age of just 14, and she then won gold in the women's 10m synchronised platform with Chen in Paris. She was Japan's youngest medallist in Tokyo.

"I have gone through three very difficult years. I overcame a lot of things," Quan said afterwards. She explained her tears of victory, as reported by AFP. "If I list them all, we will never finish. I am very happy to have this gold," she said.

Despite winning gold in the pairs event the day before, she said after the competition that her performance had been "mediocre". They had won, but she was not completely satisfied. She strives for perfection, which drove her to win another gold. Quan rated her winning performance as "50 out of 100, except for the first dive" in Tuesday's individual competition. "The rest of my dives were not up to my expectations. Despite her dissatisfaction, no one could beat her.

Quan has come a long way to become one of China's elite Olympians and is a hugely popular figure in her country. She is one of five children in a poor rural family. Her father was an orange grower and her mother worked in a factory until a car accident left her in poor health. Paying for their modest household and her mother's hospital bills was the motivation that drove her to work so hard to become the best diver in the world.

When she won gold at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games three years ago, it was the first time Quan had competed outside China. Before that, she had never left the country. 

Her talent was noticed at a very young age, much younger than she is now. A former diver saw her playing hopscotch with some friends at school. He noticed her jumping ability. She started diving at the age of seven. From that moment on, she started training and working hard, and her journey has led her to become a triple gold medallist. 

At 17, she is an icon in China, and her outgoing and approachable personality has made her even more popular. Her sporting talent has done the rest. When she stepped down from the podium after winning her gold medal, journalists asked her how she felt, as those who know her might imagine. "Hungry," she replied. "Let's get something to eat," she said. Her personality is captivating.

Once again, China continues to dominate, making it the undisputed superpower in diving, having won all five gold medals in the sport so far in the French capital. Three more golds are up for grabs, and if the Asian giants win them, they will set a new record. Chinese divers have won all but one of the eight titles in Tokyo. Great Britain took the other.