NCAA diving champion Colin Zeng continues quest to compete in Olympics

Last weekend, for an unprecedented second year in a row, Colin Zeng was named NCAA Diver of the Year at the 2019 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Austin, Texas.

Like always, his Spokane guardians, Earle and Jolyn Canty, were there to cheer him on. But this time they were mic’d.

Zeng’s story and his quest for U.S. citizenship have captured the attention of ESPN. A short documentary about him aired on the SEC network during the championships, and Jolyn Canty said ESPN has expressed interest in continuing to follow his story.

It’s a story worth following.

Moses

They call him Colin “Moses” Zeng because when he dives, he parts the waters with nary a splash.

But he has more than that in common with the biblical Moses.

Zeng was born in China – a third child born during the time of the one-child only policy. Like Moses, his mother found a way to save him in the water. She didn’t put him in a basket; instead she enrolled her only son in a diving program in Beijing. It was the only way he could receive an education.

At 7 1/2, he left his family home to live with coaches and other divers at Tsinghua University. For the next four years he endured a grueling schedule, often diving six days a week. Then in 2008, the national team took control of the university program and Zeng was dropped.

Despair drove him to contemplate suicide.

“But I thought of the story of my mom giving birth to me, almost like, losing her life,” he said.

He knew he couldn’t cause her such pain.

When the diving program was ultimately canceled, Zeng was kicked out of the training facility.

“I lived on the street for a few days,” he said.

The mother of another diver in the program found him and took him in. In 2010, she was able to get Zeng a visitor visa so he could attend diving camp at Stanford University with her daughter.

From China to America

In California, Zeng met the Canty family, which now lives in Spokane. With the approval of his parents, the Cantys became Zeng’s legal guardians and secured a student visa for him.

He excelled in school and in diving. He was high school All-American for four years and All-American national champion for two of those years.

After graduation, Zeng enrolled at Ohio State University. After redshirting his freshman year, he took the collegiate diving world by storm, winning two Big Ten championships and sweeping the NCAA Zone C meet. Zeng ended his season winning the 2016 platform title and was named 2016 Big Ten Diver of the Year.

Olympic dreams

Something changed for Zeng that year. He’d been forced to dive as a child, and as a young adult he had to dive to earn scholarships, so that he could stay in the U.S.

“But I learned to love diving my freshman year,” Zeng said. “I found joy in it – meaning in it. All the pressure and hard work was paying off. It was a really special transition.”

Like any nationally ranked college diver, he had Olympic dreams. But because he’s not a U.S. citizen, his hopes to compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics were dashed when a last-minute push for expedited citizenship failed.

That doesn’t mean Zeng, his coaches or his American family are giving up.

University of Tennessee

In 2017, Zeng transferred to the University of Tennessee and thrived under the mentorship of coach Dave Parrington.

“He’s done very well,” Parrington said.

Last year, Zeng won the NCAA platform event, placed second on the 3-meter springboard and fourth on the 1-meter. He was also named NCAA Diver of the Year and SEC Diver of the Year.

“Colin is an exemplary young man,” Parrington said. “The way he leads his life – his grades in the classroom, and obviously he’s a great diver.”

Last weekend at the NCAA championships, Zeng took first in the 1-meter, fourth in the 3-meter and fifth in platform.

“Only two divers made the finals in all three events,” Parrington said. “And only one finished in the top five in all events.”

Zeng is just the fourth diver in NCAA history with both a platform and a 1-meter title on his resume.

“I’ve learned to enjoy the process, not just the results,” he said. “And I keep on enjoying it dive after dive.”

Once again, he has Olympic dreams.

Time is running out

for Tokyo

“It goes back to my freshman year, when I decided to be the best I could be,” Zeng said of his hopes to compete in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. “There’s a point when you have to decide to keep fighting, to keep believing in yourself.”

In 2017, Zeng received an Extraordinary Ability Green Card. His athletic ability, the awards and acclaim he’s earned and his desire to stay in the U.S. and become a diving coach resulted in the Green Card approval. He no longer has to worry about being deported after he receives his master’s in sports psychology in December.

But he’s still not a U.S. citizen, and time is running out for him to vie for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. Because he’s not a citizen, he can’t leave the U.S. to travel and compete in international competitions.

Jolyn Canty credits Senator Patty Murray for helping ensure Zeng received a Green Card. Now she’s hoping Murray will update her letter of recommendation, so it can be included in documents sent to Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee.

Alexander’s office is spearheading the push for Zeng to receive expedited citizenship.

“Colin is the best in the country, but he’s a man without a country,” Jolyn said.

She’s hoping other elected politicians in Washington and Ohio will also offer letters of support.

“I really feel like it’s going to happen,” Jolyn said. “We’ve seen so many miracles just getting him here and keeping him safe.”

Zeng is keeping his eye on the prize.

“I’ll keep in shape. I’ll keep training,” he said. “I really want to be the best I can be, and the Olympics are the highest level of competition. It’s an opportunity to compete against the best in the world. It would be such an honor to be there.”

Watch the SEC Sports documentary “Dive to Survive” at https://bit.ly/2I25sko