Cao Yuan Bio: Tokyo Olympics, Gold, Diver & Net Worth

Cao Yuan is a professional diver from China who is representing his country at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The diver recently won a silver medal at the Men’s synchronized 10-meter platform with Chen Aisen.

They missed the gold by 1.23 points to British divers Tom Daley and Matty Lee. This was the British divers’ first Olympic gold medal. 

The Chinese athlete still has a chance to win a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics if he wins the Men’s 10m Platform on August 6, 2021. Besides that, he is a three-time Olympian, including Tokyo. 

The diver has won two Olympic gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.

Likewise, he is also a bronze medalist after finishing third at the 2016 Rio Olympics’ 3 m synchro.

Yuan has been diving since he was a five-year-old and developed love and respect for the sport at an early age. Cao is considered one of the best in his sport as he won his first Olympic gold as a 17-year-old. 

Besides that, he has won three gold medals, two silver medals, and one bronze medal at the FINA World Championships. Furthermore, the athlete has five gold medals and three silver medals at the FINA Diving World Cup.

At 26, he is already a three-time Olympian and named the Male Diver of the Year by the International Swimming Federation (FINA).

Here are some quick facts about him before getting into details about the gold medalist diver’s life and career.

Quick Facts

Cao Yuan | Early Life, Family, and Education

Cao Yuan was born in Hunan Province, Changsha, China, to a middle-class family. Further, as he rose to fame after his successful career, there were not many details about his parents.

However, we do know that they were very supportive parents. Hence, when Cao was five and a half years old, his mother decided to put him in diving class.

Initially, she planned to send him to a martial arts class but couldn’t find any near her location.

Thus, the best she could find was a diving class in the State Administration of Sports Training.

Besides that, he also is highly talented in music, where he prefers to play the piano.

Cao Yuan | Age, Height, and Weight

The two-time Olympic gold medalist is 29 years old as of October, 2024. Being a professional diver, he takes excellent care of his nutrition and diet.

Besides that, Yuan works out daily and has a regular training routine. As a result, the Chinese diver is has a toned physique and is very fit. 

Furthermore, the two-time Olympian is 5 ft 6 in (1.67 m) tall and weighs 137 lb (62 kg). 

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Cao Yuan | Diving Career

Early Career and Asian Games Debut

Yuan being an extraordinary athlete, showed signs of perfection in diving at an early age. He began competing in events when he was six years old.

Further, he had always found ways to amuse people around him during that time with his skills. As a result, he quickly gained a good reputation in the under 19 diving community.

Therefore, he was listed for the Men’s 10-meter platform for the 2010 Asian Games at the age of fifteen.

Fans and family had high expectations from the young prodigy, which he undoubtedly delivered. As a result, he ranked second in the preliminary rounds with a score of 528.50.

In the meanwhile, his fellow Chinese diver Huo Liang had topped the scoreboard.

However, for the finals, the tables absolutely turned in favor of Cao as he scored a near-perfect score of 99.00 in his fifth dive.

In fact, he was the only diver in the 2010 Asian Games finale to have socred 99 out of 100. As a result, this gave him the edge that led him to win a gold in the 2010 Asian Games

Hence, this marked a brilliant beginning for the rising star.

FINA Diving World Cup

Debut and Two Consecutive Gold Medal

The Young athlete made his FINA diving world cup debut in 2010 for the men’s 10-meter platform synchronized.

Further, he teamed up with Yanquan Zhang for the event. Both the divers performed great in the preliminary round as they topped the scoreboard with a score of 471.69.

Likewise, they maintained their dominance by yet again topping the scoreboard in the finals. As a result, he won his first gold medal in the FINA world cup with a score of 500.46.

Moreover, two years later, the duo repeated the gold medal for the men’s synchronized
10-meter platform.

Much like the last time, they bagged both the preliminary and final rounds. Therefore their final round score was 481.29.

In fact, they did so well that the difference between them and the first runner-up was 21.12 points.

Three Gold Medal in Single Series and Two Male Diver of the Year Honors

Although the duo, Yuan and Zhang proved to be very fruitful for both the world cup, the Chinese team replaced Zhang with Lin Yue for the 2014 world cup.

Furthermore, this proved to be a good decision for the Chinese team. Hence, they bagged the 10-meter synchronized platform for the third consecutive time.

Not to mention, they also won the 3-meter synchronized platform for the first time. Also, he won a gold medal in the 10m individual events the same year.

Thus, this made him the only diver in history to win 3 gold medals in a single World Diving Series event. As a matter of fact, he was named the Male Diver of the Year by FINA.

For the year 2016, he did not participate in any tournaments of the world cup.

Nevertheless, he returned for the 3 meters synchronized platform in 2018 alongside Xie Siyi, who also happens to be his current partner in Olympics.

The duo performed exceptionally, with a score of 448.74in the finals. Henceforth, they secured a gold medal for their country.

In doing so, Cao was again named the Male Diver of the Year for the 2018 world cup. 

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Olympic Debut, First Olympic Gold Medals, and Tokyo Olympics

The gold medal machine made its Olympic debut in the 2012 London Olympics for the Men’s synchronized 10-meter platform.

In his debut, he won the gold medal at just the age of seventeen years old. He again qualified for the 2016 Olympics for both the 3-meter springboard and the synchro platform.

The Chinese specialist diver was successful in winning gold in the 3-meter springboard. However, he, along with his partner, came up short as they secured bronze for the 3-meter synchro.

Moreover, he again qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for Men’s 10m synchronized and individual platform.

Further, he secured a silver medal in the Men’s 10m synchronized platforms. Hence, this is the first Olympics where he hasn’t won a gold medal for China.

He was very disappointed with his performance and looked forward to redeeming himself in the Men’s 10m individual platform.

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Cao Yuan | Girlfriend, Wife, and Kids

The diver is only 26 years old, so he is not married. Furthermore, he does not have a girlfriend either.

As of now, Yuan is single and is putting all of his attention and focus into winning his third Olympic gold medal. He grew up in a relatively strict and disciplined environment, so he pours all his energy into diving.

Hence, Cao spends most of his time training, preparing, and diving. As a result, he barely has time for his dating life.

Besides that, the Chinese diver is pretty private when it comes to his personal life and is not active on any social media platforms. He lives a pretty simple and straightforward life.

Nonetheless, the Olympian might have a special someone in his life that we might not know about. Moreover, he likes to live outside the spotlight most of the time. 

Cao Yuan | Net Worth and Salary

The three-time Olympian earns most of his wealth through his career as a diver.

Moreover, many sources have estimated his net worth to be $1.5 million approximately. 

Besides that, his salary details are unknown as most of his income usually depends on the type of attending events. Nevertheless, Yuan earns a fair amount through endorsement deals and sponsorships.

Furthermore, he is a two-time gold medalist and is very much popular in his country. Hence, well-known local sports apparel companies have reportedly signed him for endorsement deals. 

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Cao Yuan | Social Media Presence

The Chinese diver is quite old school and is (unfortunately) not active on social media platforms. Hence, he prefers to keep his personal life out of the spotlight.

Moreover, he enjoys living his life at the moment rather than capturing and posting about it. Likewise, he’s very focused on what he does and tries to eliminate as much distraction as possible.

Although he has an Instagram account but has not been using it since August of 2016. Similarly, he has over 16 hundred followers and 16 posts on his Instagram handle.

Nonetheless, he posted pictures of him practicing and winning medals. Further, Yuan loves and adores his teammates in the Chinese national team.

As a result, most of his posts cover photos alongside the Chinese team. All in all, his sole focus is to be the best diver and make sure he is giving his best to be one.

Cao Yuan | FAQs

Did Cao Yuan go to UCLA?

No, the diver has most likely not obtained a college degree as he gives all of his time to diving. 

Has Cao Yuan broken his streak of winning a gold medal in the Olympics?

Technically not, as he still has a chance of winning a gold medal in the men’s 10m platform on August 6, 2021.