Topline
Chinese shooter Yang Qian and weightlifter Hou Zhihui claimed the first two gold medals at the Tokyo Olympic Games with record-breaking performances Saturday, while fencer Sun Yiwen added a third later in the day, getting China’s Olympic campaign off to a strong start as it looks to challenge the U.S. Olympic team for the top spot in the medal table.
ASAKA, JAPAN - JULY 24: Gold Medalist Qian Yang of Team China poses on the podium during the 10m Air ... [+]
Key Facts
Yang claimed the first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday after pipping Russian shooter Anastasiia Galashina in the women’s 10-meter air rifle competition.
The 21-year-old Chinese shooter had barely scraped her way into the final eight and buckled once in the final with a score of 8.9 on one of her shots.
Despite the setback, Yang was able to secure gold with her final shot scoring 9.8, taking her total to an Olympic record of 251.8, while American Mary Tucker—ranked No. 2 in the world—crashed out of the final early, finishing in the sixth spot.
The second gold of the Olympics went to Hou, who won the women’s 49 kg weightlifting competition after lifting a total of 210kg—also a new Olympic record.
Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu won silver, lifting a total of 202 kg, giving her nation its second Olympic weightlifting medal since Karnam Malleswari’s bronze at the Sydney 2000 Games.
Sun gave China its third gold on the day, beating Ana Maria Popescu of Romania in the women’s épée in overtime by a score of 11-10.
What To Watch For
Team USA will be in action later on Saturday as the women’s soccer team will look to overcome their first-round loss to Sweden in what is effectively a do-or-die game for them against New Zealand. The U.S. men’s gymnastics team, featuring Brody Malone, Sam Mikulak, Yul Moldauer, Shane Wiskus and Alec Yoder, will also compete in the qualifying round on Saturday.
Tangent
According to projections made by FiveThirtyEight, Team USA is expected to end the Olympics with the highest number of medals with a tally of 128. However, China which is projected to come in second with a medal tally of 82 has already overperformed gaining two medals more than what the projections expected. The final medal table is ranked based on the most number of golds won by a country. China topped the table in the 2008 Beijing Olympics while the U.S. has topped the two summer games in London and Rio, that have taken place since.
Further Reading
The First Gold Medal Of The Tokyo Olympics Goes To China (NPR)
China's Yang wins first gold medal of Tokyo Olympics (Reuters)
