Wang Chuqin (L) and Sun Yingsha of China compete during the table tennis mixed doubles final at the Paris Olympics on July 30, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)
Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha clinched China’s first Olympic gold in table tennis mixed doubles, while Australian swimmers maintained great momentum at La Defense Arena.
PARIS, July 30 (Xinhua) — Top-seeded pair Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha secured China’s first Olympic table tennis mixed doubles gold at Paris 2024, while Kaylee McKeown set a new Olympic record to claim Australia’s fourth swimming gold of the Games on Tuesday.
Benefitting from the good form of their swimmers, Australia climb to third place in the gold medal tally with six golds, the same as China, who have more silvers to rank second. Japan still lead with seven gold medals.
Table tennis mixed doubles made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, where Japanese pair Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito rallied past China’s Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen to win gold on home soil.
At the Paris Olympics, Wang and Sun sailed into the final to confront dark horses Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong of DPR Korea, seizing the victory 4-2.
Sun, 23, who had won the women’s team gold and singles silver in Tokyo, said, “We had never played our opponents before, so this match required more efforts in terms of preparation.”
“This gold is probably the medal I wanted the most. We put in so much for this, and now, all the efforts are paid off. The win belongs to the whole team,” the 24-year-old Wang said. “Winning this mixed doubles gold does feel like a rock has been lifted from our shoulders.”
Shotgun shooter Qi Ying also made history as he won China’s first Olympic medal in men’s trap after finishing second with 44 hits in the final behind world record holder Nathan Hales of Britain, who took the gold medal with an Olympic record of 48 hits.
“Generally I think I was doing well. I made some mistakes in the final, and the result was a little bit lower than my expectation,” said the 27-year-old Qi, who was making his Olympic debut. “My goal was to finish in the top three at the Paris Olympics, and I hope to change the color to gold in the future.”
Kaylee McKeown of Australia reacts after the women’s 100m backstroke final at the Paris Olympics on July 30, 2024. (Xinhua/Luo Yuan)
McKeown retained her 100m backstroke title with a new Olympic record of 57.33 seconds at La Defense Arena, beating her own previous mark of 57.47 set in Tokyo.
World record holder Regan Smith of the United States took silver in 57.66, and her compatriot Katharine Berkoff claimed bronze in 57.98.
“She [Smith] pushed me the whole way through,” 23-year-old McKeown recalled. “The nerves were definitely there, but I reminded myself that it is a pool in a different venue, and I train every single day of my life.”
Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen also refreshed the Olympic record in seven minutes and 38.19 seconds to seal the win in the men’s 800m freestyle, smashing the previous record held by Ukraine’s Mykhailo Romanchuk by more than three seconds.
“Towards the end, I knew I was going to win in the last 150 [meters]. You get that adrenaline going in the last 50, and that is all you need,” Wiffen said after taking Ireland’s first gold medal at Paris 2024.
In the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay, the British quartet of James Guy, Tom Dean, Matthew Richards and Duncan Scott finished first in six minutes, 59.43 seconds, followed by the United States and Australia.
Athletes of Italy (L) and France react after the women’s epee team gold medal match of fencing at the Paris Olympics on July 30, 2024. (Xinhua/Xu Zijian)
At fully-packed Grand Palais, Italy edged hosts France to win their first-ever women’s epee team gold at the Paris Olympics, while China narrowly missed the podium after losing to Poland in the bronze medal match.
Japan’s Takanori Nagase became the first judoka to retain the men’s 81kg title at the Olympic Games, as he eased past world No. 2 Tato Grigalashvili from Georgia within three minutes by a clear ippon, earning Japan’s third gold in judo at the Paris Olympics.
The final day of rugby sevens saw the favorites New Zealand successfully defend their gold medal in the women’s final after defeating Canada 19-12, while the United States shocked Australia to claim bronze. China placed sixth overall after defeating Britain but losing to France in the playoffs.
On Wednesday, another five swimming golds will be settled, with Chinese divers eyeing on their third gold in Paris.