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Source: Global Times

The swimming events of the Paris Olympics were all completed on the 4th. On that day, the Chinese team broke the 40-year monopoly of the United States and won the gold medal in the men's 4X100m medley relay, which perfectly concluded the trip of Chinese swimmers to Paris. When taking a group photo at the award ceremony after the game, the Chinese team was originally planning to sit down, but the American team members took the initiative to indicate that "the champion should stand on top" and sat down with the French team. After that, the team members shook hands and hugged one by one. "Participation is more important than winning." This scene is what the Olympic arena should look like, and it is also a vivid embodiment of the Olympic motto of "faster, higher, stronger - more united".

The Chinese team stood on the highest podium

Of course, some Western media still did not give up, including once again provoking the US team to talk about the Chinese athletes' food contamination incident at the post-match press conference. American team member Murphy said, "Salute to the Chinese team, they swam a great game tonight." I believe his praise is sincere. Great champions need great opponents. These high-level athletes may have competed with each other since they were teenagers and are familiar with each other. No one outside can understand each other's strength better than them, and can better understand the hardships and difficulties behind the athletes' honors. They achieve each other, which is the true meaning of sports competition.

The waters in the Paris Olympic pool are not calm. Since April this year, the United States Anti-Doping Agency and foreign media such as the New York Times have published a series of false reports, inciting dissatisfaction with Chinese athletes and attempting to challenge the testing system of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). They simply ignored the fact that each member of the Chinese swimming team has been tested an average of 21 times since January this year, and constantly forced WADA to clarify the "groundless" matter. Even after the swimming events of the Paris Olympics came to an end, the Washington Post still published an article with extreme arrogance, attacking that for an organization "funded by the United States with $3.7 million per year", WADA's actions are unacceptable, and even hinted that the Chinese team should be banned.

They played such a big game that even American congressmen personally participated. As a result, those rumors neither successfully disrupted the swimming competition of the Paris Olympics nor "helped" the American team to make any breakthroughs. It is very likely that they did more harm than good and became "interference" that the American team members had to try their best to eliminate before the game. In this Olympics, the American swimming team won 8 gold, 13 silver and 7 bronze medals, which is the lowest number of gold medals and medals since the 2004 Athens Olympics. The swimming event in Paris showed a pattern of many heroes rising together, with a total of 13 participating teams winning gold medals. American team member Murphy admitted, "Our goal is to win the championship, but there are other teams that have dominance in the swimming pool...Italy, China, and France are all rising. This is not a bad thing, it is a good thing for this sport." It can be seen that most athletes know right from wrong.

Chinese swimming team cheers after winning gold medal

Sports are an important part of American culture and are even seen as a source of national cohesion. American schools and parents all "roll up" sports, and the participation of the whole nation in sports is also very high. Sports can cultivate a sense of competition, and at the same time, sports also emphasize respecting rules, focusing on the process, and emphasizing cooperation, which is even more important than competition, because no one, and no country, can always be the champion.

The Chinese swimming team has made great progress in recent years and is able to compete with traditional swimming powers. This is due to scientific and systematic training day after day, as well as the tempering of rounds of competitions. Despite all kinds of interference, the Chinese swimming team is still moving forward steadily, and it is not surprising that it has made remarkable breakthroughs. According to the logic of some Westerners, European and American athletes breaking records is a breakthrough of "human possibility", while Chinese athletes setting records is "human impossibility". Isn't this absurd double standard behind naked racism?

There was another episode at the swimming competition in the Paris Olympics. French team member Marchand, who was previously involved in the controversy of "ignoring the handshake of the Chinese coach", went to the Chinese coach Zhu Zhigen twice to apologize, explained in person and exchanged gifts. This move was praised as "graceful" on the Chinese Internet. In a diverse world, athletes are also learning how to show the image of themselves and the groups they represent through their sports ethics and professional qualities. In this regard, the Chinese delegation did a good job. Even when faced with some impolite questions, they always maintained a reasonable and restrained response and a confident and open demeanor. This ultimately won them heartfelt applause from the outside world.

A photo of Zhu Zhigen (left) and Marchand (right)

The West is the birthplace of most modern sports, but now other countries are catching up quickly in terms of both competitive level and the development of national sports. The West must accept this change, because sports belong to all mankind. As the father of the modern Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin, said, sports "enable young people all over the world to learn to respect and learn from each other, and make different national characteristics become the driving force for noble and fair competition." There are still some people and some media in the West who refuse it, but they will eventually accept it.

Further reading:

Chinese swimming team wins gold, creates history; third runner-up chokes up in tears

On the closing night of the swimming competition at the Paris Olympics, a historic moment for Chinese swimming has arrived.

In the early morning of August 5th, Beijing time, in the men's 4×100m medley relay swimming event held at the Paris Olympics, the Chinese team composed of Xu Jiayu, Qin Haiyang, Sun Jiajun and Pan Zhanle swam a time of 3 minutes 27.46 seconds, defeating strong European and American teams such as the United States and France to win the gold medal. This is also the second gold medal for the Chinese swimming team in this Olympics.

Since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, the US team has completed ten consecutive Olympic victories in the men's 4×100m medley relay. However, at the Paris Olympics in the early morning of August 5th Beijing time, the Chinese swimming team broke the 40-year monopoly of the United States.

What is even more exaggerated than the 40-year monopoly is that since the men's 4×100m medley relay first entered the Olympics in 1960, the US team has never lost this event except for the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Chinese team members cheered after winning the championship

In this duel, there are enough details and stories behind every stroke.

In the first backstroke, Xu Jiayu's split score was 52.37 seconds, 0.07 seconds faster than the American backstroke veteran Murphy. As a long-time rival in the backstroke event, Xu Jiayu said a day ago that he had never beaten his opponent in the relay, but this time he gained an advantage for his teammates and finally won his first Olympic gold medal.

Xu Jiayu admitted after the game: "If I hadn't won the gold medal, I might have always felt very entangled, and it would have become a knot in my heart. Now that the knot has been untied, I will be more at ease to pursue some things about the essence of swimming."

Xu Jiayu and Qin Haiyang were excited after winning the gold medal

When Qin Haiyang jumped into the pool, a story of self-redemption began.

The slump in breaststroke once put too much pressure on Qin Haiyang. "After swimming the 100-meter breaststroke, I really wanted to give up. It was too painful. But I thought, as long as I persist, I will have a chance. If I give up, I will have nothing."

Before the relay event started, Qin Haiyang was lost in his emotions, but after regaining his form, he once again became the invincible breaststroke king at the Fukuoka World Championships - Qin Haiyang swam a split score of 57.98 seconds, giving the Chinese team a 0.64-second advantage.

Tan Haiyang said: "I think this is the most beautiful battle we have ever fought!"

The third leg, butterfly stroke, has long been a weak point for Chinese swimming. Sun Jiajun was not the best choice for this leg, but he was appointed when the original candidate, Wang Changhao, was unable to participate due to illness.

Sun Jiajun understands the importance of his performance to the team, with three world-class teammates. Sun Jiajun, whose personal best in butterfly stroke is 51.52, swam a split of 51.19 that night, giving it his all.

In an interview after the game, he first choked up and then took out a photo with his senior brother Yan Zibei. Three years ago in the Tokyo Olympics, Yan Zibei also shed tears on the field. At that time, Yan Zibei, who won the silver medal in the men's and women's 4×100m medley relay, said: "It's a pity that my coach didn't become the coach of an Olympic champion. This is also the closest to the gold medal."

Now, Sun Jiajun has completed his senior brother’s unfulfilled wish.

The Chinese team celebrates winning the championship

When Pan Zhanle entered the water, the Chinese team was ranked third, 0.75 seconds behind the host France team, which ranked first. It is almost impossible to catch up with the 0.75 second gap in the freestyle segment. But when you have the fastest man in the world in the 100-meter freestyle, everything is possible.

Even in the 100m freestyle final, Pan Zhanle was 1.08 seconds ahead of the second place, not to mention the relay event. Pan Zhanle swam a 45.92 second split in the freestyle leg, surpassing the French and American teams in the last 25 meters.

Thus, the 40-year monopoly of the American team was broken, and the gold medal belonged to China.

After the game, Qin Haiyang modestly said that there was still room for improvement. Pan Zhanle was more direct: "I admire these three very much. They said they were not satisfied, but the game was over. We are the champions. It should be others who are not satisfied."

This night happened to be Pan Zhanle's 20th birthday. A year ago, Pan Zhanle had made a birthday wish to swim under 46 seconds, and now he achieved his goal on his birthday night.

As the swimming events of the Paris Olympics came to an end, the Chinese swimming team won a total of 12 medals in this Olympics, including 2 gold, 3 silver and 7 bronze medals. The total number of medals won in a single Olympics exceeded the 10 medals in the 2012 London Olympics, the most in the history of the competition.

A total of four new world records were set in the swimming arena, one of which was 46.40 seconds set by Chinese athlete Pan Zhanle in the men's 100m freestyle final.