Four-stone diver's winning recipe: no dinner for a year

A severely underweight athlete won China's 11th gold medal today after going without eating evening meals for a year.

Wang Xin, who is 4ft 6in and weighs 4st 4lb, has long been billed as one of China's top hopefuls in diving.

Today the 16-year-old and partner Chen Ruolin, also 16, took victory in the synchronised 10m platform event at Beijing's Water Cube.

They scored the top ranking dive in every round, claiming a victory with 363.54 points, almost 30 more than Australia's silver medallists Briony Cole and Melissa Wu.

Wang has a body mass index of 14.5 - far below the healthy recommended level of between 18 and 25.

She was introduced to diving aged nine and has proved to be the most promising Chinese diver since Fu Mingxia, who has four Olympic golds under her belt.

But the world champion, who is known among her team-mates as the "stick insect", has previously admitted she had not eaten anything in the evenings for the past 12 months.

Wang, who celebrated her birthday yesterday and will next compete in the 10m individual diving event, said: "For the past year or so, I haven't eaten anything after dark, except for the occasional postcompetition snack."

She would not say whether she volunteered for the evening fast or if she was following coaches' orders.

Wang's coach Yu Fen previously said: "Even though she's a world champion and technically impeccable, an abrupt fluctuation in weight could be seriously damaging for Wang."

It is widely known that Chinese sports authorities scout for diving prospects and rush them into full-time training at an early age. Their tiny bodies give them an advantage, especially in platform events, thanks to increased control and less waterentry splash than adult rivals.

But being on the brink of puberty can cause a surge in weight and it has been reported that some Chinese coaches have attempted to stunt the growth of athletes.

Jia Tong, 16, who won the women's platform synchronised gold alongside Chen at the 2005 world championships, has plunged into virtual obscurity since a surge in bodyweight. She has been excluded from the Olympic squad and ordered back to training in her native Sichuan province.

Chen, who won the synchronised event alongside Wang at the 2007 world championships, has also been on a strict diet.

Chris Cashin, a dietitian with the British Dietetic Foundation, who has advised British athletes, was horrified Wang was allowed to compete today. "This girl is clearly not taking on board the right nutrients and calories," she said. "I can't believe someone is not keeping an eye on athletes like these. Something should be done about it. If she is doing it of her own accord then she definitely has an eating disorder."