And the flashiest component of the ceremony, a formation of the five Olympic rings by tiny points of light, was invisible live in the stadium. But there simply weren’t enough people in the stands to make much noise. TOKYO - As the athletes finished marching into the stadium for the closing ceremony of the 32nd Summer Olympics on Sunday night, the announcer asked for a big round of applause. The Tokyo Games, which ended on Sunday, offered viewers a respite from the frustration and tragedy of the past 18 months. Here’s a look at all of the world records set during the Tokyo Games. In the women’s team pursuit, the world record was broken three times in the same day, first in qualifying rounds, and twice in the first round of competition.Ĭhina is departing these Olympics with 88 medals and five new world records across swimming, cycling, shooting and weight lifting events. In men’s team pursuit, a world record fell during the first round, and again during the finals. World records in track cycling were broken multiple times during these Olympics. And the weight lifter Lasha Talakhadze of Georgia set three world records, in both lifts and his total. team and another in the individual 100-meter butterfly race. In doing so, she became the first woman from Venezuela to win an Olympic gold medal.Ĭaeleb Dressel set two world records in the swimming pool: one in the 4x100-meter relay as part of the U.S. Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela smashed a triple jump world record that had gone uncontested for more than 26 years. Warholm won the race, obliterating his own world record, which he also set this year. The men’s 400-meter hurdles was a similar story: Both Karsten Warholm of Norway and Rai Benjamin of the United States broke the world record. Sydney McLaughlin of the United States posing with her new world record. The majority of China’s gold medals came from women or from mixed team events. But it also claimed victories in canoeing, cycling, rowing and athletics, and underscored its growing strength in swimming. China scored golds in the sports it has dominated in the past, like weight lifting, diving, gymnastics and table tennis. Few children make it to the elite level and even those that do are not guaranteed good jobs after they retire.Įven as government officials stressed that they wanted to encourage mass sports and overall physical fitness, the drive for gold continued. But the country slipped in London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016, amid public reservations about whether the sports system was worth it. On home turf in 2008, China met its ambitions by topping the gold medal count for the first time. Sports schools started programs from scratch in women’s weight lifting, taekwondo, canoeing and more. It mattered little whether there was deep public interest in these sports in China. In addition to traditional strongholds like table tennis and badminton, Chinese officials deliberately targeted sports that were underfunded in the West, such as women’s sports, or less high-profile pursuits with many medals on offer from multiple weight divisions or competition categories. To establish itself as a sports superpower, China’s government years ago developed an official “gold medal strategy” that depended on thousands of full-time sports schools, with coaches scouting young talent in villages and cities alike. With one day of competition remaining, the race for the most gold medals was a tight contest between the United States and China. All of this will be the legacy of the 2020 Olympiad. But there was also an emptiness, physically in the stands and in the loss of a once-in-a-lifetime celebration for the city and people of Tokyo. How could there not be? And the sport didn’t look half bad on TV. There was great competition at these Games. Jennifer Valente won the United States’ only track cycling gold of the Games, taking the women’s omnium, a four-event bicycle decathlon of sorts.īulgaria won the gold in group rhythmic gymnastics, France in women’s handball and Serbia in men’s water polo. women’s volleyball team also won gold, their first ever, beating Brazil, 3-0.Įliud Kipchoge of Kenya defended his Olympic marathon title, becoming only the third man to win gold medals in back-to-back Games. A’ja Wilson had 19 points for the United States. women’s basketball team won the gold medal over Japan, 90-75, their seventh straight Olympic title. TOKYO - There was a smaller menu on the last day of this most unusual Olympics, but it was an elite one. women’s volleyball team won its first Olympic gold medal, beating Brazil, 3-0.
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