Tokyo olympics seven moments worth12/16/2023 ![]() In a post-race interview, Sullivan called herself “the epitome of an American,” adding: “I’m multicultural. The 20-year-old Sullivan, an openly gay Japanese-American who lost her father in the run-up to the Games, felt the weight of the moment as well. Regardless, it was the perfect cap on the event’s long-overdue introduction. It could have been any number of things Ledecky was reacting to, from finally winning the event in which she’s been the presumptive gold medalist for years, to the monumental moment for gender equality in swimming, or her younger teammate Erica Sullivan battling back for a 1-2 American finish. But after winning gold in the first-ever women’s 1500-meter freestyle – after a relatively rocky start to her meet – Ledecky animatedly pumped her fist and was moved to tears. It’s not often that we’ve seen Katie Ledecky get visibly emotional. SEE MORE: 14-year-old Quan Hongchan delivers perfection on platform Ledecky, Sullivan go 1-2 in first women's 1500 If the games weren't postponed a year, Quan would have been a spectator. She was the youngest athlete that China sent to the Games. Incredibly, two of her final dives received 10s from all seven judges – perfection. The lowest score she saw in the final was a 9.0 and each of her final dives received at least one 10. Her 466.20-point final list set a new Olympic record. Quan Hongchan led the pack out of the women's 10m platform semis and refused to give anyone a chance in the final. But China's 14-year-old female phenom was – and then some. Qiu Bo dropped a reverse 3.5-somersault gem in Rio. There was one single "perfect 10" dive the last Olympics, executed by China's silver medalist in the men's 10m finals. SEE MORE: Behind the scenes: Simone Biles warms up for return on beam Quan Hongchan’s diving perfection But because she’s the greatest gymnast of all time, she seemed to say, "New dismount? No problem," and execute the double pike to near perfection, earning a second Olympic bronze in the event and a seventh career Olympic medal. ![]() To protect her mental and physical health, Biles also withdrew from all the other events she qualified for. The country’s total medal haul of seven was its highest ever.Team USA Wins Most Gold Medals After Epic Final Day at Tokyo Olympics Neeraj Chopra’s javelin gold medal was only the second individual gold India has ever won. ![]() It is only the second time it has competed as an independent country at the Olympics.ĭespite its population, India has never been an Olympic powerhouse. Kosovo’s two golds in the judo came so early in the Games that for a while the small Balkans country was in the top 10 of the medal table. Two gold medals is the best performance by Ireland team at an Olympics since Atlanta in 1996.įares El-Bakh won Qatar’s first ever gold medal at an Olympics in the weightlifting, but that was soon to be eclipsed by the amazing moment in the Tokyo stadium where Mutaz Essa Barshim agreed to share high jump gold with Gianmarco Tamberi. Photograph: Photosport/Inpho/Shutterstock Ireland’s Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan with their gold medals. And only then will the Japanese public be able to decide if a multibillion-dollar Olympics they helped bankroll but were banned from watching – at least in the most immediate sense – were worth the risk. Reliable answers will have to wait until long after the athletes, journalists, sponsors and officials have left. This time, it will be judged on whether it pulled off what had at times looked like mission impossible: to welcome tens of thousands of visitors for a sports event and simultaneously prevent it from doubling as a virus super-spreader. The last time Tokyo hosted the Olympics, in 1964, Japan seized the opportunity to demonstrate its transformation from militarist aggressor to fully fledged member of the community of responsible nations, complete with a constitution that would prevent it from waging war again. There was a sobering assessment of the potential impact of these Games from Justin McCurry, our Tokyo correspondent who has been reporting on the Covid pandemic and the buildup in Japan. Although he has been a world champion, he never quite made it to the podium at the Olympics – finishing fifth in 2004 and an agonising fourth in 2008. ![]() John De la Cruz wanted me to flag up the retirement after eight Olympics of Spanish race-walker Jesús Ángel García as a notable moment. Janja Garnbret of Slovenia on her way to winning the first ever Olympic sport climbing gold.
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