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China Shocks the World: Ends USA’s 11-Year Reign in Olympic Swimming

Daniel Kim Views  

Yonhap News

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, China’s men’s 4x100m medley relay team delivered a stunning upset by ending the United States’ streak of 11 consecutive victories. The Chinese team, consisting of Xu Jiayu in backstroke, Qin Haiyang in breaststroke, Sun Jiajun in butterfly, and Pan Zhanle in freestyle, won the gold medal with a time of 3 minutes 27.46 seconds. The U.S. team, featuring Ryan Murphy, Nic Fink, Caeleb Dressel, and Hunter Armstrong, finished second with 3 minutes 28.01 seconds, trailing by 0.55 seconds. This marks the first time since the 1960 Rome Olympics that another country won the gold medal in the men’s 4x100m medley relay while the U.S. competed.

Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle clinched gold in the freestyle leg, clocking an impressive 45.92 seconds in the final 100 meters, surpassing both France and the U.S. This victory secured Pan Zhanle’s status as a double gold medalist at these games.

Fueled by their passionate home crowd, France secured third place with a time of 3:28.38. In this competition, Léon Marchand stood out in the breaststroke leg, earning an impressive tally of four gold medals and one bronze.

Yonhap News

Meanwhile, the U.S. women’s 4x100m medley relay team set a new world record and secured the gold medal. The team, comprising Regan Smith (backstroke), Lilly King (breaststroke), Gretchen Walsh (butterfly), and Torri Huske (freestyle), finished in 3:49.63, trimming 0.77 seconds off the previous record set at the 2019 Gwangju World Championships.

In the men’s 1,500m freestyle, Bobby Finke set a new world record of 14:30.67, surpassing Sun Yang’s previous record of 0.35 seconds, set at the 2012 London Olympics.

Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström triumphed in the women’s 50m freestyle with a time of 23.71 seconds, securing her second gold medal of the Olympics after her victory in the 100m freestyle. Sjöström was the first Swedish swimmer to claim gold in this event.

Yonhap News

Overall, the U.S. dominated the swimming events at the Paris Olympics, securing eight gold medals. Australia closely followed with seven golds, while France earned four, securing third place. China earned two gold medals. South Korea’s Kim Woo Min also contributed bronze to the men’s 400m freestyle event.

Four world records were set in the swimming events, including two on the final day, closely approaching the six world records set at the Tokyo Olympics.

Yonhap News
Daniel Kim
content@viewusglobal.com

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