Tokyo Olympics: China’s gold medal haul hailed despite USA stealing bragging rights
- China equals the 2012 London haul of 38 gold medals and its ‘best achievement in an overseas Olympics’
- USA wins three golds on final day of competition as China draws a rare blank
China, who had led the medal table for 11 straight days, were pipped at the post by the USA when Chinese athletes failed to win a gold medal on the final day. Team USA finished with 39 gold, 41 silver and 33 bronze medals, against China’s 38 gold, 32 silver and 18 bronze.
How China’s diving darling strove for Tokyo gold to help ill mother
“We are thrilled by the performance of Team USA – and couldn’t be more proud of the way they carried themselves,” said Susanne Lyons, chair of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee. “These Games are one for the history books.”
The Chinese delegation hailed the result as the “best achievement in an overseas Olympics”, equalling the 2012 London Olympics.
Three gold medals for the US on the final day of the Games – from the women’s basketball team, the women’s volleyball team and an unlikely victory for track cyclist Jennifer Valente in the omnium – tipped the balance for the USA, which had finished top of the medal table in five of the last six Games.
The only time China reigned supreme was at their home Games in Beijing in 2008 when they fielded a largest ever delegation of 639 athletes.
Despite near total domination in the diving pool, again, China fell short in the synchronised 10-metre platform discipline, the only gold medal they did not take in diving.
05:36
Hong Kong cyclist Sarah Lee claims bronze at Tokyo Olympics, as US tops China in medal tally
Rio 2016 gold medallists China were nailed-on favourites to claim gold in women’s volleyball, but failed to advance past the group stage.
Team China may also have expected to net more gold in boxing, judo and taekwondo, events were they traditionally bag some gold.
Still, they can be well pleased when reflecting on its overall effort in Tokyo, where they were not tipped to top the medal table.
Tears in Tokyo as China end Lang Ping era with win
China’s aim going into the delayed Games were to arrest an alarming slide in its overall fortunes since 2008, in which it slipped back to second in 2012, finishing 12 gold medals behind the USA, and then third in the medal table in 2016, behind Great Britain – who took one gold more than China.
The IOC ranks the medal table placings on gold medals as opposed to overall number of medals won, a metric the USA often uses to determine the medal standings. In the event of a gold medal tie, silver medals are counted and then bronze.
China’s haul included some surprise new Olympic champions in sports where it was not predicted to challenge for gold.
Analysts have been hard at work attempting to get to the bottom of the unexpected success. It is thought that a lack of international competition in the past 18 months threw up a series of strange results, which might go some way to explaining some of the triumphs.
There was success on top of the water for China in addition to a great deal of success in it.
In its first Games with legendary British Olympian Steve Redgrave helming its rowing team as the high performance director, China scooped its first rowing gold medal (as well as two bronze medals) in the women’s quadruple skulls, and in world record time.
Meanwhile, hosts Japan had its best Olympic haul with 27 golds, bagging 58 medals in total.