Reports: Family hid deaths from Chinese Olympic diver until she won gold

China's gold medalists He Zi and Wu Minxia pose on the podium after the women's synchronized 3m springboard diving event at the London 2012 Olympic Games on July 29, 2012 in London.

/ MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/GettyImages

(CBS News) After Chinese diver Wu Minxia and partner He Zi won their sport's first gold medal of the London Olympics with a dominating performance in the women's 3-meter synchronized event on Sunday, Wu was more stoic than ecstatic.

"It feels normal," Wu said in Mandarin. "I really don't have that many emotions."

But her parents would drop an emotional bombshell moments later when they told Wu secrets they had kept for several years, according to media reports.

From Yahoo Sports' Martin Rogers:

"Wu's parents decided to withhold news of both the death of her grandparents and of her mother's long battle with breast cancer until after she won the 3-meter springboard in London so as to not interfere with her diving career.

"It was essential to tell this white lie," said her father Wu Yuming.

Both of Wu's grandparents died more than a year ago and Wu's mother has battled breast cancer for eight years. Yet Wu knew nothing until this week.

Complete coverage of 2012 London Olympics

"Wu called us after her grandmother died, I gritted my teeth and told her: 'everything's fine, there aren't any problems'," Wu's father Wu Jueming told the Shanghai Morning Post.

The news has provoked criticism of the win-at-all-costs culture in China, where athletes are groomed from a very young age for grueling training sessions at Soviet-style sports schools. In the wake of the news about Wu's family, thousands took to the microblog Sino Weibo to voice their outrage, according to the AFP.

"Apart from making people crazy, our Olympic strategy also makes people lose their humanity," one online commentator wrote. "Our national sports system is disgusting," another commenter said.

[ugacrew]

No one is qualified to criticize this family because they have no idea what kind of relationship the young athlete had with these individuals in the first place. They knew, firsthand, how much achieving this dream mean't to this young lady. Consequently, knowing onlywhat they know, they sought balance between the two.

If knowledge of the death would have caused her to completely be able to focus on a life long dream....? On the other hand, she was powerless to change the circumstances surrounding Grandma, and her death may have been inevitable. As for her mother, I know that as a mother, I would want to do absolutely nothing that would interfere with my daughters achievement of her lifelong dream and I most likely would not want them to tell her something that she could change. Yes, I love her that much. If I thought telling her would heal me I would do otherwise.

Life is tough and it brings forth great challenges. None of you posters are qualified to pass judgement of any of these people because you can't judge another person's relationship based on your own.

[theraveninexile]

"Radiation and rockets at the London Olympics you ask? Yes, more than 7,000 tons of radioactive debris pushed just to the side to build the Olympic stadium and anti-aircraft missIes anchored on the rooftops of private London residences. War games, military and private security forces patting down the throngs at a cost of £1 billion ($1.54 billion) just for "security" alone, this is the straw which has finally broken the camel's back for my lifetime of Olympics watching."


http://cuttingthegordianknot.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/radiation-and-rockets-why-i-am-boycotting-the-london-2012-olympics/

[orogenicman1]

I don't know about anyone else, but if that kind of information was kept from me, I'd be mad as hell. Then again, I find it hard to see how they could keep such information from them unless they were kept in a case completely isolated from the word. And if that is the case, I agree with another poster that this kind of training should be banned from the Olympics as inhumane.

[ganguandaland]

grandma's dead?

[outasight]

you are an idiot

[credibility2]

...such a sad story...life at the Olympics can be bittersweet...

[Retta in Las Vegas]

Reminds many to count their blessings, she may have gold, but what about teaching her her family ties should always be the real golden rule in life.
How sad and selfish the adults are that they place winning a medal over her mental health in this situation.They should be ashamed of themselves, shes still a child in many ways.
She should dump them all, they are monsters.

[netjunkie1]

They are institutionally brainwashed.
I think the whole idea of soviet style sports schools that take families apart and call it right should be banned from Olympic play.

[cherrybrown]

That is sweet.
"Yes dear, everything is wonderful. We are so proud of that gold medal! Oh and by the way on the happiest day of your life, (you have worked so hard for)I have cancer and Grama and Papa are dead. Way to go on that medal honey!"

[outasight]

sorry but the story said that her Mother had died of cancer, only her worthless father was left

[tnjhobson]

No the story did not say her mom died of Cancer.