Day 9 in Paris: Chinese swimmers end USA's 40-year medley relay reign

What could be sweeter for China than putting an end to the USA's 40-year reign over one of its most-coveted gold medal events at the Olympics?

A sensational Chinese team featuring Xu Jiayu, Qin Haiyang, Sun Jiajun and Pan Zhanle accomplished the seemingly impossible in Paris, after stunning their highly-regarded American rivals to clinch victory in the men's 4×100m medley relay on Day 9 of the 2024 Summer Olympics.

This historic win halted the USA's remarkable winning streak in the event that dated back to the Los Angeles Games in 1984. The Americans settled for silver, while France secured bronze, adding to Leon Marchand's impressive medal haul.

"We make a fantastic team and achieved an incredible result," exclaimed Pan, who led the charge in breaking the USA's stronghold on the event with an exceptional time of 45.92 seconds that represents one of the fastest 100m freestyle splits in history, while Qin also delivered a stellar showing of 57.98 seconds to outpace Marchand in the breaststroke leg.

The good news continued in the pool for the Chinese contingent as Zhang Yufei collected a bronze medal in the women's 50m freestyle final with a time of 24.20 seconds. In the subsequent women's 4×100m medley relay, Zhang teamed with Wan Letian, Tang Qianting and Yang Junxuan to capture bronze in 3 minutes, 53.23 seconds.

With the swimming events in the French capital now completed, the Chinese team compiled a total of 2 gold, 3 silver and 7 bronze medals.

In table tennis, Fan Zhendong redeemed himself by defeating Sweden's Truls Moregard in the men's singles final, making up for the gold he missed out on three years ago in Tokyo. His impressive 4-1 victory adds another contribution to China's dominant performance in the sport at the Games, following the earlier successes of his teammates in the women's singles and mixed doubles events.

Elsewhere, the Chinese artistic gymnastics team, who narrowly missed gold twice at Bercy Arena, finally seized the top prize. Defending champion Liu Yang claimed victory in the men's rings with a score of 15.300 points, while compatriot Zou Jingyuan earned silver with 15.233 points.

China also achieved a 1-2 finish on the apparatus for the second consecutive Olympics, with Liu becoming the first athlete since 1972 to defend the men's rings title. In the women's uneven bars, Qiu Qiyuan delivered a stellar performance, notching 15.500 points toclinch the silver medal behind Algeria's Kaylia Nemour.

On the volleyball court, the Chinese women's team staged a thrilling comeback from a set down in its final group stage match to reel off three straight sets and defeat Serbia 3-1, advancing to the quarterfinals with a flawless record of three wins from three.

Meanwhile, the USA's Noah Lyles solidified his status as the fastest man in the world with a victory in the 100 meters that was decided by a photo finish. The 27-year-old Lyles is the first American to win the event since Justin Gatlin at the 2004 Athens Games.

Another legendary athlete who enhanced his legacy is Novak Djokovic, who arrived at the Paris Games with the aim of adding an Olympic gold to his illustrious career. He achieved his goal by defeating Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(3), 7-6(2) in a thrilling men's singles tennis final, securing the missing piece in his decorated career.

Day 10 of the Games will feature a total of 20 medal events including the men's pole vault final in athletics where Sweden's Mondo Duplantis will look to defend his Olympic title and potentially set a new world record.

The badminton, 3×3 basketball, canoe slalom, artistic gymnastics, shooting, and triathlon events are also scheduled to conclude on Monday.