Zhang fires to win China’s 1st gold
Print Edition
ZHANG Mengxue got China off the gold medal mark at the Rio Games yesterday, the Olympic debutante winning the women’s 10-meter air pistol title.
With an assured display of precision shooting at the Deodoro range, the 25-year-old comfortably held off Russian teenager Vitalina Batsarashkina, with Greece’s Anna Korakaki taking bronze.
The girl from Jinan grabbed her chance to take the title after her compatriot Guo Wenjun, the champion in 2008 and London 2012, misfired badly in qualifying to miss out on the final.
Another big name missing was the Ukrainian world No. 1 and Athens 2004 champion, Olena Kostevych.
Mexico’s Alejandra Zavala Vazquez took fourth, leaving Zhang, Korakaki and Batsarashkina to fight out the medals.
Zhang, who only made her debut in international competition in 2015, shot a perfect 10.9 in her 17th shot to pull two points clear, and seal her country’s first of what it will expect to be many golds in Brazil after its opening day’s haul of two silvers and three bronze.
American legend Michael Phelps was joining the fray yesterday hoping to reverse the trend after triumphant Australia dominated the first day’s action in the Olympic pool.
Inspired by swimmers Mack Horton and Cate Campbell, Australia surged to the top of the medals table on Saturday.
That laid down the gauntlet for the Americans and now all eyes are on Phelps, 31, who made his Olympic debut in 2000 and admits it is getting no easier to push his aging frame to the limit once more in search of a potential six more titles.
His campaign was to begin in the 4x100 freestyle relay final where the chief rivals will again be the Australians who showed superb form on Saturday.
Aussie Horton dethroned China’s Sun Yang to win the men’s 400 freestyle and then Campbell, the individual world record-holder, anchored Australia to 4x100 freestyle gold in 3 minutes, 30.65 seconds, the fastest time in history.
“Definitely my favorite race ever, in an Olympic final with my sister and two girls I have known since I was 12, 13 years old and a gold and a world record,” said Campbell, who swam with Emma McKeon, Brittany Elmslie and her sister Bronte.
That was one of a trio of swimming world records.
Britain’s Adam Peaty was the early star in the swimming pool. He set an eye-popping new world record of 57.55 in the men’s 100 breaststroke heats — his first-ever Olympic swim.
Katinka Hosszu shattered the world record by more than two seconds to win the women’s 4x100 individual medley.
The Hungarian had led all the way and touched in 4:26.36, easily eclipsing the record of 4:28.43 held by China’s Ye Shiwen.
There was joy also for teenage American shooter Virginia Thrasher, who upset China’s champions in the women’s 10-meter air pistol to snare the first gold of the Games.
Thrasher finished ahead of Du Li, a two-time gold medalist, and defending champion Yi Siling.
Hoang Xuan Vinh wrote his name in the history books when he won the men’s 10m air pistol, claiming the first ever gold medal for Vietnam. Pang Wei of China had to settle for bronze.
Meanwhile, the entire Russia team has been banned from competing in the Paralympic Games in September as punishment for the country’s systematic doping program.
The International Paralympic Committee’s blanket ban on Russia is in stark contrast to the decision by the IOC to allow individual sports to decide whether Russians can compete in Rio.
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