Paris, France, August 7, 2024: Don’t be fooled by the glitter and sparkle of China’s women’s artistic swimming team.
Underneath the surface, these are some of the toughest, most dedicated and determined athletes competing in the Olympic Games. They have sacrificed a lot and gone through the pain barrier again and again to reach the top of the Olympic podium.
They dazzled the crowds at the Aquatics Centre in Paris on Wednesday, winning the team gold medal by more than 80 points from the United States.
China totalled 996.1389 points from their technical routine (313.5538), free routine (398.8917) and acrobatic routine (283.6934) – they led all three elements – and the United States took silver with 914.3421, 81.7968 points behind China.
Spain came in third for bronze with 900.7319 – 95.4070 points adrift.
Their incredible performance, synchronicity and strength has been developed over several years, and Paris 2024 is seeing the beauty of the finished, polished product.
Team member Feng Yu commented: "Our generation has a lot of responsibility on its shoulders. Before coming to Paris, we were fully prepared. We hoped that these three years of preparation would have a perfect result for us."
But it was not until China’s coach, Zhang Xiaohuan, explained the work that the eight-strong team has gone through that the full picture was revealed.
"Preparation was tough. We cried, even were injured, but we kept ourselves in this game and continued. I think this really is a feast for the world, a great performance. We were inspired by our competitors as well,” she said.
"They fought so hard and never gave up. Everyone has endured a lot of pressure and stress. Training is very difficult. Teammates have had bones broken, noses as well. They’ve been bleeding, had jaws hit by their teammates, and had to go to the hospital."
The golden result is China’s crowning glory.
"This is the best work I’ve ever done in my life. For a second I thought, this is unreal. This is my biggest dream - how could I just achieve it? Then I thought of all the hard work, generation after generation. This gold medal is the best payback for all of us."
In the third and final leg of the competition on Wednesday, the acrobatic routine, China performed to “Light of Life” – and clinched the first gold medal in team artistic swimming in Olympic history.
China’s team comprised: Chang Hao, Feng Yu, Wang Qianyi, Wang Ciyue, Wang Liuyi, Xiang Binxuan, Xiao Yanning, Zhang Yayi and Cheng Wentao.
