Ren was, however, not totally happy with her performance.
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The 27-year-old from Plymouth accumulated 318.00 points across her five dives to advance in 10th place.
Ren emerged from the shadows of 17-year-old teammate Si Yajie, who had dominated the qualifiers and semifinals in Rio de Janeiro, to give China six wins out of seven events in the Olympic diving competition.
Australia’s Melissa Wu (368.30) finished a commendable fifth, although she was bitterly disappointed with her final dive – a back two-and-a-half somersault with one-and-a-half twist – because it dragged her away from a possible bronze. I had the time of my life this last couple of weeks and it’s sad it’s over. “To drop that, I was upset with”.
Chinese divers have developed a reputation as the world’s best, many of them securing success at a point in their careers their foreign counterparts could only dream of. “They’re pretty much flawless”. I really admire them.
“I was really happy”.
Great Britain’s Tonia Couch didn’t get off to a fine start, scoring just 64.50 with her first dive of the final. They did it with the pressure of the country on them.
The final diving event in Rio will be the men’s 10m platform where China will be bidding for another gold.
A stunning third round dive from Ren scored 94.05 points to see her leapfrog Si and take a stranglehold over the competition. Back in February, Ren placed first and Si placed second in the 2016 World Cup in Rio – the most recent major worldwide diving competition.
Her cheeky laugh when asked questions by a handful of Australian journalists softens such a belief. “I wasn’t very nervous today, I was just focused on my routine”, she said. A 14-year-old Romanian, competing at her first Games, changed that.
“Possibly, yes. I am not fully aware of what way but it’s my gut feeling”.
Comaneci won three golds at the Montreal Olympics, and another two four years later. “I think I’ll train and work harder from now on so I can focus on my future”.
For the record, she is 162cm. Hardly looking her age, she was simply unflappable in her first appearance on the Olympic stage.
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“Actually for the fourth dive, I felt OK”, Si said.
