University of Minnesota Athletics
Wenbo Chen - Women's Swimming & Diving
- Title:
- Head Diving Coach
- Email:
- wchen@umn.edu
- Phone:
- 612-624-5874
Wenbo Chen enters his 18th season as the Head Men's and Women's Diving Coach at the University of Minnesota for the 2026–27 academic year. Throughout his tenure in Minneapolis, Chen has established the Gophers as one of the premier collegiate diving programs in the nation. Under his guidance, Minnesota divers have claimed four NCAA National Championships, over 70 CSCAA All-America honors, and more than 20 Big Ten individual conference titles.
Chen's impact on Minnesota's national profile began early in his tenure when he coached Kelci Bryant to back-to-back NCAA individual titles (3-meter in 2010, 1-meter in 2011). That legacy continued with Yu Zhou, who won the 3-meter NCAA title in both 2015 and 2017 while earning CSCAA Diver of the Year honors in 2015. Under Chen’s tutelage, Sarah Bacon went on to become the most decorated female athlete in University of Minnesota history, winning five NCAA National Championships—capturing 1-meter titles in 2018, 2019, and 2021, along with 3-meter titles in 2021 and 2022—and finishing her career as a 10-time All-American.
The program's championship standard has continued through recent seasons. In 2023–24, Chen coached sophomore Vivi Del Angel to Minnesota's first-ever national championship in women's platform diving. That same season, freshman Elna Widerstrom earned All-American status on the 1-meter board, while freshman YuTong Wang secured dual All-America honors across both springboards and became Minnesota's first men's Big Ten diving champion since 2016. In 2025–26, Chen earned his 11th Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year award as Widerstrom was named Big Ten Diver of the Year following her conference title on the 1-meter board and a bronze medal finish at the NCAA Championships. Meanwhile, Del Angel wrapped up her collegiate career as an 8-time All-American after taking the 2026 Big Ten platform diving crown.
Beyond collegiate competition, Chen possesses extensive international and Olympic credentials. He served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic Diving Team at three Olympic Games: London 2012, Rio 2016, and Paris 2024. At the 2012 Games, he guided Gopher standout Kelci Bryant and teammate Abby Johnston to a silver medal in synchronized 3-meter diving. Before moving to the United States in 1992, Chen headed the Chinese National Team from 1983 to 1991, coaching six Olympic medalists, including two-time Olympic gold medalists Ni Xiong and Ming Gao.
As an athlete, Chen won a Chinese junior national title on the 3-meter springboard in 1976 and was a senior national finalist from 1977 to 1982. He earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Beijing Sports University in 1987. Chen lives in the Twin Cities with his wife, Wenyin Han, and they have two daughters, Amy and Annie.
