DAKAR, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's Liu Lili claimed her second gold medal in as many days at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Tuesday, winning the women's single sculls coastal rowing beach sprint title.
Liu, who had partnered Su Juntao to win the mixed double sculls on Monday, completed her golden double with a commanding victory over Germany's Carolina Guerra Gonzalez in the final at Saly Beach West.
After defeating opponents from Türkiye and Spain in the quarterfinals and semifinals, Liu fell slightly behind during the opening running section of the final but recovered during the rowing leg to take control.
She crossed the finish line in 2 minutes, 39.65 seconds, finishing 14.23 seconds ahead of her German opponent.
"I've brought the gold medal home to China! I didn't give up!" an emotional Liu said, wiping away tears after the race.
Despite receiving encouragement from her coach, Liu admitted she had struggled with nerves before the final.
"I just couldn't relax because I wasn't sure whether I could win the gold. If I had finished second, I would have felt a little disappointed," she said.
Liu said she had focused primarily on the mixed double sculls in training and had not expected to win the individual title, having entered the competition simply hoping to "see how far I could go."
The unexpected triumph, she added, had boosted her confidence ahead of future competitions at the senior level.
China coach Fei Penghui said the final had been closely contested in its early stages, with the Chinese and German athletes having shown similar levels of performance in the preliminary rounds.
"It was a match full of twists and turns. In the end, we won by a narrow margin thanks to our slightly stronger performance and more solid preparation," Fei said.
He also expressed confidence that China's young rowers could continue their progress ahead of coastal rowing beach sprints' senior Olympic debut at Los Angeles 2028. ■
