University of Minnesota Athletics
Diving Takes off for China Training Trip
12/29/2018 6:15:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
The University of Minnesota divers head to Beijing today for their winter training trip. The Gophers will make the journey to China for 13 days of training before their return on Jan. 16. The athletes and coaching staff will reside and train at the Beijing Muxiyuan Sports Technology school for the duration of their stay abroad.
The team commits to this training trip once every four years so that every Minnesota diver has the opportunity to travel to Beijing once while they are a Gopher.
"Since Wenbo [Chen] is from China originally it's a really special trip that not very many divers ever get to take," said graduate assistant coach Ellie Smart. "China is the leading country in diving, so it will be a great learning experience for the divers."
The diving program already had a strong connection to the country as head coach Wenbo Chen along with seniors Nick Yang and Xiao Fu all came to Minnesota from China. Coach Chen relocated from China to the United States in 1992 to continue his coaching career while Yang and Fu chose Minnesota in order to train under such a knowledgeable diving coach.
Yang, Fu and the rest of the group will spend a majority of their time training; however, the coaches have also scheduled some cultural excursions for the student-athletes over the course of the trip. The team has a day planned to tour Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, a possible visit to the Great Wall and hope of observing Chinese National Team practice in between their training sessions.
Will we provide an update on what the divers are up to as the training trip progresses, but to keep fully up to date with the team follow @GopherSwimDive on Instagram and Twitter and like our Facebook page.
The team commits to this training trip once every four years so that every Minnesota diver has the opportunity to travel to Beijing once while they are a Gopher.
"Since Wenbo [Chen] is from China originally it's a really special trip that not very many divers ever get to take," said graduate assistant coach Ellie Smart. "China is the leading country in diving, so it will be a great learning experience for the divers."
The diving program already had a strong connection to the country as head coach Wenbo Chen along with seniors Nick Yang and Xiao Fu all came to Minnesota from China. Coach Chen relocated from China to the United States in 1992 to continue his coaching career while Yang and Fu chose Minnesota in order to train under such a knowledgeable diving coach.
Yang, Fu and the rest of the group will spend a majority of their time training; however, the coaches have also scheduled some cultural excursions for the student-athletes over the course of the trip. The team has a day planned to tour Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, a possible visit to the Great Wall and hope of observing Chinese National Team practice in between their training sessions.
Will we provide an update on what the divers are up to as the training trip progresses, but to keep fully up to date with the team follow @GopherSwimDive on Instagram and Twitter and like our Facebook page.
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