Finalist Pan Zhanle 3rd → 1st place reverse dramatic 11th consecutive win, US suffers first defeat, Korea archery-China table tennis 10-game winning streak
“The seemingly endless American dominance has been brought to an end by China,” Reuters reported while covering the results of the men’s 400m medley relay final at the Paris Olympics, where China caused an upset. In the men’s 400m medley relay final held at the La Defense Arena in Paris, France on the 5th, China won first place with a time of 3 minutes 27.46 seconds, ending the United States’ 11-game winning streak in the event. The United States came in second with a time of 3 minutes 28.01 seconds. The
400m medley relay involves four swimmers swimming 100m each in the order of backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle to determine the rankings. The United States, which has a strong roster of swimmers in all events, has won the men’s 400m medley relay 10 times in a row from the 1984 Los Angeles Games to the 2021 Tokyo Games. Until the finals were held that day, it was the record for the most consecutive Olympic wins.
The United States has won the men’s 4x100m medley relay at every Olympic Games since it became an official Olympic event in Rome in 1960, up until the recent Tokyo Games, winning the event 15 times. Australia won the gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Games, when the United States did not participate due to the Cold War with the Soviet Union. China became the first country to beat the United States in the men’s 4x100m medley relay at an Olympics.
China’s Pan Zhanle holds up his gold medal after winning the men’s 4x100m medley relay final at the Paris Olympics on the 5th. Pan Zhanle, who took the final freestyle swim, started in third place but beat French and American swimmers to win the event, ending the U.S.’s 11-game winning streak in the event.
China was led by the last freestyle swimmer, Pan Zhanle (20). When Pan Zhanle entered the water, China was in third place, following France and the United States. However, Pan Zhanle was the first among the eight swimmers to touch the pad, beating France and the United States in succession with the fastest 100m time (45.92 seconds). Pan Zhanle said, “It was magical. The whole journey to the Paris Olympics was great.” Pan Zhanle won two gold medals at this competition. In the 100m freestyle final on the 1st, he set a world record (46.40 seconds) and became the first Asian swimmer to win the event in 92 years.
The American swimmers expressed their disappointment. Caleb Dressel (28), who participated as the American butterfly swimmer, said, “It was a close race, but China was faster,” and added, “We have always expected a gold medal, and our goal will not change in the future.” The US women’s swimming team won the gold medal in the 400m medley relay with a world record time of 3 minutes 49.63 seconds.
Unlike the US, which has stopped its streak of records, there are countries that have continued their winning streak at this Olympics. The Korean women’s team, the ‘world’s best’, has won the team event 10 times in a row. They have proven their ‘invincibility’ by not giving up the top spot for 36 years since the 1988 Seoul Games when the team archery event became an official Olympic event. China continued its 10-game winning streak in the women’s table tennis singles event led by Chen Meng (30), who won two consecutive Olympic gold medals
. The US holds the record for the most consecutive wins in the Summer Olympics. The US has won 16 consecutive gold medals in the men’s pole vault. From the first Athens Games in 1896 to the 19th Mexico City Games in 1968, they have never missed a gold medal. 안전놀이터