China led the medal tally with nine golds, as the 18-year-old rider Deng Yawen made history in BMX, while Pan Zhanle set a world record in the men's 100m freestyle.
by Sportswriter Li Chunyu
PARIS, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Deng Yawen, 18, claimed China's first-ever BMX Olympic gold in the women's park at Paris 2024, while China's swimmer Pan Zhanle broke the world record to win the men's 100m freestyle title in 46.40 seconds here on Wednesday.
China currently sits top of medal tally with nine gold medals, followed by hosts France and Japan, both on eight golds.
Chinese rider Deng finished second in the qualification on Tuesday, behind only five-time world champion Hannah Roberts of the United States, and showed confidence on the Olympic stage, "I prepared for the event at my own pace, and I chose the tricks that I was sure of to gain a good spot."
Deng kept to her word and achieved two highest scores in the final to grab the historic gold, while the favorite Roberts only ranked eighth after falling.
"If you do every move well, your final score can't be bad," said the young Chinese rider. "I was on top after the first run, and that gave me even more confidence to level up my performance in the second run. I am satisfied with my result."
"My coach helps us overcome our problems, and he has taught us a lot of things that we didn't understand well about BMX cycling," Deng said of coach Daniel Dhers of Venezuela, one of the most decorated BMX freestyle riders of all time.
Elsewhere, 19-year-old Pan clinched China's first swimming gold at the Games, leading all the way to lower his own 100m freestyle world record of 46.80 set at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha.
"I didn't expect to break the world record before the race. I planned to have a strong start and keep the momentum. I know that there are high hopes on me, and finally, I did it," Pan said after the competition.
Local hero Leon Marchand added two more gold medals for France in the men's 200m butterfly and the men's 200m breaststroke, after his Sunday's victory in the 400m individual medley.
World record holder Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden blitzed her rivals to clinch gold in the women's 100m freestyle. Competing in her fifth Olympic Games, Sjostrom, 30, powered home in 52.16 seconds, 0.13 seconds faster than American Torri Huske who took silver. Siobhan Haughey from Hong Kong, China claimed bronze.
In the women's 1,500m freestyle final, American Katie Ledecky seized her eighth career Olympic gold medal and set a new Olympic record of 15 minutes, 30.02 seconds. France's Anastasiia Kirpichnikova finished second, ahead of the bronze medalist Isabel Gose of Germany.
Chinese divers continued their gold rush, as Chen Yuxi and Quan Hongchan, who have paired up to win the World Championships three times in a row, dominated the women's synchronized 10m platform at Paris 2024 with 359.10 points, 43.2 ahead of runners-up Kim Mi-rae and Jo Jin-mi of DPR Korea.
The victory of Chen/Quan marked China's seventh straight Olympic gold in this event and the team's third diving gold in Paris. Both divers will compete in the individual event, and 17-year-old Quan said, "I think we need to try our best. No matter who will win the individual gold at last, I will be happy as long as it belongs to China."
Sixth seed Zheng Qinwen of China rallied past Germany's veteran Angelique Kerber in an arduous women's singles quarterfinal 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (6) of more than three hours. 21-year-old Zheng became the first Chinese tennis player to make the Olympic semifinals since Li Na finished fourth at Beijing 2008.
Kerber, 36, who had decided to retire after the Games, said after her last match, "I can not stop better than here, playing for my country. There are a lot of emotions. I gave everything I could, and this is what counts."
Elsewhere, Adriana Ruano Oliva of Guatemala won her country's first-ever Olympic gold medal after finishing first in the women's trap, while Shinnosuke Oka came out the new Olympic all-around champion in the men's gymnastics.
Athletics events are set to kick off at the Stade de France on Thursday, and four swimming golds will be on offer. ■
