Sharpshooter Xie Yu claimed China's second shooting gold at Paris 2024, while South Korea won their 10th straight Olympic gold in the women's archery team event.
PARIS, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shooter Xie Yu bounced back from a mediocre qualification round and triumphed in the men's 10m air pistol final, while South Korea secured their 10th straight Olympic gold in the women's team event at Paris 2024 on Sunday.
24-year-old Olympic debutant Xie clinched China's second shooting gold at the Paris Olympics, after the victory of teenage duo Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao in the 10m air rifle mixed team event on Saturday.
Xie ranked only sixth after the qualification round and surged from behind in the final to claim the gold medal with 240.9 points, 0.9 points ahead of Italy's Federico Nilo Maldini. Fellow Italian Paolo Monna took the bronze.
"The process was hard, but the result was rewarding," the Chinese sharpshooter noted after the competition. "I think I had a stable performance today. I was nervous, but I did not panic. I managed to keep a cool head."
In the women's 10m air pistol, South Korean shooters secured a 1-2 finish, as Oh Ye-jin set a new Olympic record of 243.2 points to stand atop the podium, while her compatriot Kim Ye-ji scored 241.3, also beating the previous record of 240.3, to finish second. The bronze went to Manu Bhaker of India.
South Korea also prevailed in archery, as the trio of Lim Sih-yeon, Nam Suh-yeon and Jeon Hun-young edged China 5-4 to win the women's team event. Archers from South Korea have shown unwavering dominance in the event since it was introduced to the Olympics in 1988.
"We had so much support from our people, both emotionally and physically," Lim said. "Thanks to the good environment and support, we were able to have consecutive wins."
Despite being one step away from the championship, Chinese archers already showed their strength on the Olympic stage. "[The Koreans] are more comprehensive. But we keep focusing on what we do, and it has already proved a lot for us to have a 4-4 in the game," Kwon Yong-hak, coach of China's women's archery team.
In the swimming pool, Torri Huske of the United States finished first in the women's 100m butterfly final, closely followed by her compatriot, world record holder Gretchen Walsh. China's Zhang Yufei, a silver medalist in this event at Tokyo 2020, took the bronze.
"Last time [at the Tokyo Olympics] I just missed the podium, and I am not going to lie, that was devastating," Huske said. "But I think it really fueled me and made me better. I had an amazing support system. I have had my family, my friends and teammates to push me every day."
Nicolo Martinenghi of Italy produced a storming finish to win the men's 100m breaststroke title. The 24-year-old clinched gold in 59.03 seconds, just two hundredths of a second ahead of Great Britain's Adam Peaty, while Nic Fink of the United States ranked third.
Leon Marchand set a new Olympic record to claim gold in the men's 400m individual medley. The Frenchman led at every turn to finish in four minutes and 2.95 seconds, beating the previous Games record of 4:03.84 set by Michael Phelps in Beijing 16 years ago.
Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita and Carson Foster of the United States seized silver and bronze, respectively.
"I definitely dreamed of that before, every one of us did. Doing this in my hometown is pretty cool," Marchand said.
Pauline Ferrand Prevot of France added another gold for the hosts, as she finished the seven circuits of the 4.4 km course at Elancourt Hill in an hour, 26 minutes and 2 seconds, two minutes and 57 seconds ahead of runner-up Haley Batten of the United States in the women's mountain bike cross-country race.
"I was like a robot: I didn't hear anyone on the course, maybe my coach, but not even my parents who are here," Prevot said. "I was just on a mission, and it was about going for gas on the uphill, recovering on the downhill. I focused on that and rode my own race."
Elsewhere, Diyora Keldiyorova of Uzbekistan claimed the country's first-ever Olympic judo gold in the women's 52kg category, while Japan's judo veteran Hifumi Abe successfully defended his Olympic title in the men's 66kg.
After the second full competition day, Japan leads the medal tally with four golds, two silvers and one bronze, while China currently rank sixth with three golds. ■
