PARIS: On Saturday, the first full day of competition at the Olympics in Paris, China won its first gold medal as the rain that spoiled the opening ceremony finally let up.
The teenage combination of Sheng Lihao and Huang Yuting defeated South Korean competitors Keum Ji-hyeon and Park Ha-jun 16–12 in a closely contested mixed-team 10-meter air rifle final, with Kazakhstan taking home the bronze.
The 10-meter mixed team air rifle event saw Alexandra Le and Islam Satpayev of Kazakhstan upset the field and win bronze, giving their country’s first Olympic medal.
At Chateauroux, Le and Satpayev easily defeated Maximilian Ulbrich and Anna Janssen of Germany, winning 17–5. Janssen, the top-ranked player in the world, and Ulbrich, rated 19th, were the favorites to win over Le and Satpayev, who are ranked 33rd and 95th in the world, respectively.
As the rain continued to cause headaches, one sporting casualty had already been claimed by the rain early on Saturday. The downpour had flooded Friday night’s daring event on the Seine River.
Because of overnight rain, the men’s street skateboarding competition—which was scheduled to take place at the Place de la Concorde in the historic center of Paris—was rescheduled until Monday, according to the organizers.
The first round of tennis at Roland Garros was similarly impacted by the rain, with play on the ten covered outdoor courts not starting until 13:30 local time (1130 GMT), according to the organizers.
At Friday’s amphibious opening ceremony, which featured 7,000 athletes paraded along the Seine in an armada of boats before a show-stopping finale that culminated with a glittering light show at the Eiffel Tower and a performance by singer Celine Dion, torrential rain had lashed participants and spectators.
The center-right Le Figaro daily in France gave the ceremony generally positive reviews, calling it “full of surprises but often disjointed.” Nonetheless, the athletes from South Korea were mistakenly introduced as North Koreans during the ceremony, forcing the International Olympic Committee to issue an apology.
The IOC posted on its official Korean-language X account, “We deeply apologise for the mistake that occurred when introducing the South Korean team during the broadcast of the opening ceremony.” – A swimming competition
On the sports front, competitions for swimming, badminton, rowing, cycling, hockey, basketball, and surfing begin in Tahiti, a French Pacific island some 16,000 kilometers (9,950 miles) away.
The women’s 400m freestyle, one of the most anticipated swimming events of the whole Olympics featuring three swimmers who have held the world record, will take center stage at the La Defense Arena. Ariarne Titmus, the reigning champion from Australia, will start as the favorite after setting a new record last month of 3 minutes, 55.38 seconds.
Three years ago, in an electrifying Tokyo final, she upset US rival Katie Ledecky, who was vengeful. The highly favored trio is completed by Canadian teenage phenom Summer McIntosh, a former world record holder.
On the opening night of competition in the pool, there will also be gold medals up for grabs in the men’s 400-meter freestyle and the men’s and women’s 4×100-meter freestyle relays. Iga Swiatek, the reigning French Open champion, and Carlos Alcaraz are two of the top draws for Roland Garros’ opening day of play, weather permitting.
