PARIS, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- At the Paris Olympics, a wave of young athletes made their mark with stellar performances, shattering personal limits and not only capturing glory for their countries but also injecting a fresh dynamism into the Olympic spirit.
Zheng Qinwen (China, Tennis)
21-year-old Zheng made history as she defeated Donna Vekic of Croatia in straight sets to become the first Asian to win the Olympic women's singles gold medal. Before the gold, in the landmark semifinal, she had overcome the world's top-ranked player, Iga Swiatek, whom she had never previously defeated. "I finally showed I could beat the world No.1 on her best surface. I always knew I could do it, but there is a difference between knowing you can and showing it," she said.
Pan Zhanle (China, Swimming)
Pan emerged as a dominant force by setting a new world record in the men's 100m freestyle, clocking in at 46.40 seconds to take the gold. On his 20th birthday, in the 4x100m medley relay, he performed a stunning final leg comeback in 45.92 seconds, helping China win its first Olympic gold in this event and breaking the United States' run of 10 successive gold medals dating back to the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
Julien Alfred (Saint Lucia, Athletics)
23-year-old Alfred entered the record books for Saint Lucia by winning the country's first-ever Olympic medal by taking gold in the women's 100m with a time of 10.72 seconds, ahead of the favored American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson. She added a silver in the 200m finals, narrowly missing gold by 0.25 seconds.
Summer McIntosh (Canada, Swimming)
McIntosh emerged as a standout in the highly competitive pool, claiming three gold medals in the women's 400m individual medley, 200m individual medley and 200m butterfly, setting Olympic records in the latter two events. The 17-year-old has become the first Canadian to win three gold medals at the same Olympic Games.
Fermin Lopez (Spain, Football)
Despite scant playtime at the European Championships, Barcelona's emerging talent Fermin showcased his skills on the Olympic stage. He scored two spectacular long-range goals to knock out Japan in the quarterfinals and added a goal and an assist in the semifinals against Morocco. In the finals, Fermin scored twice in overtime to lead Spain to a 5-3 victory over host nation France, clinching Spain's first men's football Olympic gold since 1992.
Shinnosuke Oka (Japan, Gymnastics)
20-year-old Oka claimed gold in men's all-around, helping Japan become the first country to take four straight all-around titles after Uchimura Kohei's 2012 and 2016 gold medals and Daiki Hashimoto's Tokyo win. He also took gold in men's team gymnastics and horizontal bar events and a bronze in parallel bars, an impressive haul for his Olympic debut.
Sam Watson (USA, Sport Climbing)
18-year-old Watson was a frontrunner in men's speed climbing at the Olympics, having previously set a world record of 4.79 seconds. In Paris, he bettered his own record in the qualifiers and, despite a semifinal elimination, he rebounded to break the world record again in the bronze medal match with a time of 4.74 seconds.
Felix Lebrun (France, Table Tennis)
17-year-old prodigy Lebrun, the highest-ranked non-Chinese player in men's singles table tennis, fell short against Fan Zhendong, the gold medalist, in the semifinals but rebounded to dominate Brazil's Hugo Calderano 4-0 in the bronze medal match. His two singles victories in the team event helped France edge out Japan 3-2, securing the country's first Olympic medal in men's team table tennis. ■
