"Your performances were amazing. You competed fiercely against each other. Every contest on the edge of perfection. Every performance sparking excitement around the world. You showed us what greatness we humans are capable of," Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, said during the closing ceremony.

History in the making

Team China concluded its Paris Olympic campaign with 40 gold, 27 silver and 24 bronze medals, its best performance at an Olympics held abroad.

On August 11, the central authorities of China, including the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, sent a congratulatory message to the nation's Olympic delegation. The message praised the athletes for bringing glory to the country and highlighted their promotion of both the Chinese sporting spirit and the Olympic spirit.

In table tennis and diving, sports in which China is traditionally strong, China secured all five and eight gold medals, respectively. Additionally, China achieved historic milestones, including its first-ever gold respectively in the men's 100-meter freestyle swimming, tennis women's single, artistic swimming, women's boxing and rhythmic gymnastics.

On July 28, Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle set a world record of 46.40 seconds in the men's 100-meter freestyle. "This gold medal is very significant for our country, as it represents a historic breakthrough in a new event for Chinese swimming. It's a very exciting achievement," Pan said after the race.

Australian swimmer Kyle Chalmers expressed his astonishment during an interview with the YouTube channel SwimSwam on August 12 after competing against Pan in the event.

Chalmers recalled that during the race, he could only see Pan's feet, leading him to think it was the worst race of his career, as he believed he was lagging far behind the others. However, when he discovered that Pan had finished with an extraordinary time of 46.40 seconds, Chalmers felt that his own silver medal finish at 47.20 seconds was a victory.

"I'm so proud of that and to be a part of a race where the world record was absolutely demolished," Chalmers said.

In the men's 4x100-meter medley relay on August 4, backstroker Xu Jiayu, breaststroker Qin Haiyang, butterflyer Sun Jiajun and freestyle star Pan ended 40 years of U.S. dominance since the 1984 Olympics with a sensational 3 minutes and 27.46 seconds.

Twenty-one-year-old Zheng Qinwen beat Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-2, 6-3 in the tennis women's singles final at Paris 2024 on August 3, becoming the first Chinese and first Asian player to stand on top of the podium in an Olympic tennis singles event.

From the quarterfinals onward, Zheng Qinwen fought fiercely, often collapsing onto the clay court after each final decisive hit. After a brief moment of repose, where she stretched out fully, she would rise with clenched fists—exhausted yet relieved. The spectators, fully aware of her struggle, responded with a standing ovation, honoring her triumph and the performance presented to them.

When asked about the differences between Olympic, Asian Games and Women's Tennis Association matches, Zheng said in a post-match interview she always feels supported when playing for Team China. She defeated World No.1 Iga Swiatek of Poland in the semifinals at Paris 2024. It was her first victory over Swiatek after six straight losses and she called the win her best match.

Fencer Vivian Kong Man-wai, who clawed back from a 7-1 deficit in the women's epee final, won China's Hong Kong its third ever Olympic gold medal on July 27. Kong disappointed the home crowd as she beat France's Auriane Mallo-Breton 13-12 in the final.

In a tearful post-match interview at the Grand Palais in Paris, when asked how she managed to turn the match around, Kong said that she "didn't want to lose so miserably," adding "I didn't want to give up without demonstrating the Hong Kong spirit in my fight."

Beyond gold

Gold medalists stand at the pinnacle of Olympic achievement, but the lasting memories of the Games are often shaped by the courage, effort and sportsmanship of all athletes, regardless of their final standing.

New hurdles star Wu Yanni of Team China finished with a time of 12.98 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles semi-finals, failing to qualify for the final. When asked what score she would give herself for her Olympic debut, she gave a brutally honest self-assessment of "zero."

"I ran really slow while they ran super-fast. Oh my god!" the 27-year-old said in a post-run interview on August 7. However, Wu, untroubled by the failure, said she did not expect too much from Paris and her first Olympics was more an opportunity to learn from other, world-class hurdlers. This has earned Wu, an already very talked-about athlete on Chinese social media, even more admiration, with her interview clip amassing over 27 million views on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.

Meanwhile, 61-year-old Ni Xialian, representing Luxembourg in table tennis, showed the world that age is no barrier to competing at the highest level. Competing in her sixth Olympic Games, Ni became the oldest competitor in the history of Olympic table tennis.

Despite her eventual loss to the world No.1 Sun Yingsha in the women's single table tennis round of 16 match, Ni's performance was nothing short of inspiring.

She punched her fist when she won a point and shrugged with a smile when she lost one. Her energy and speed may have waned, but her joy never did. As the match ended and the crowd erupted in applause, Ni, smiling as always, blew kisses, waved, and finally let her tears flow.

Newly included sports also brought fresh energy to the Games. Breakdancing—referred to as "breaking" at Paris 2024—made its debut, alongside three other emerging sports: sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing, all of which first appeared at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games.

China's youngest Olympic skateboarder Zheng Haohao, who turned 12 on August 11, concluded the women's bowl preliminary round on August 6 with a score of 63.19, missing out on the finals. Although her attempts to execute more difficult tricks didn't go as planned, her enthusiasm was undimmed.

Rock climber Wu Peng was narrowly defeated by Veddriq Leonardo of Team Indonesia by a margin of 0.02 seconds on August 8. More than his silver medal or outstanding performance, what truly lingered in the audience's memory was his determination, intense focus and the sniper-like gaze he held as he was awaiting the race.

Moment of warmth

The Olympic Games showcase some of the fiercest competition in the world, but Paris reminded us that it's more than just winning. Beyond the score sheets and broken records, there were moments worthy of cheering for humanity itself.

China's weightlifter Shi Zhiyong, a two-time Olympic champion, faced an unexpected defeat in the men's 73kg event at the Paris Olympics on August 8, failing all three attempts in the clean and jerk.

"I was a bit anxious during the first attempt, which led to the failure; the second left me feeling a bit lost," he said after the race. "By the third attempt, I tried my best to lift it, but my legs were in great pain; I couldn't hold on," Shi, breaking down in tears, said, adding that his adductor muscle was torn during the competition.

"My third Olympics ended with regret. I feel I've let everyone down, but I haven't let myself down. I gave it everything I had," Shi commented on popular Chinese microblogging platform Weibo, one day later, while revealing the details of his six-month battle against injuries—a five-liter bottle packed with acupuncture needles and more than 50 painkiller injections.

"You haven't let anyone down. It is us that should say thank you," one post commented. After the Chinese weightlifting team concluded its Paris campaign with five gold medals, all the gold medalists hung their medals around Shi's neck for a post-competition photo.

Another instance occurred during the badminton women's singles semi-final between China's He Bingjiao and Spain's Carolina Marín. Marín, who appeared to have the upper hand, suffered a right knee injury that forced her to withdraw from the match. He advanced to the gold medal match, where she lost to An Se-young of the Republic of Korea (ROK).

With a silver medal draped around her neck, China's world No.9 lifted a small Spanish flag badge­—a tribute to her injured semi-final opponent as she shared that she was "heartbroken" over Marín's misfortune. As noted by the South China Morning Post newspaper, it was "a silver medal, but a golden gesture."

U.S. Time magazine highlighted a touching moment from the mixed table tennis doubles award ceremony—players from China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the ROK took a podium selfie. ROK broadcasters repeatedly aired the footage, noting the significance of this rare show of unity.

"This is probably the most meaningful image of this Olympics," the magazine quoted a Weibo user commenting on the photo.

The Paris Olympics wrapped up with a spectacle: Tom Cruise skydived into the stadium, took the Olympic flag from gymnast Simone Biles, and secured it to the back of a motorcycle before roaring out of the arena. Preparations for the next Olympics are now underway, and the excitement is set to continue.

(Print Edition Title: Glory and Joy)

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson

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