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PARIS — As the Paris Olympics hit the midway point, China leads the gold medal tally by a sizable margin with thirteen first place finishes. France and Australia each have ten golds. The U.S., in fourth place, has just nine.
That balance is likely to shift quickly as track and field events get underway, where American athletes often dominate.
But it's worth pausing to take stock of why the Chinese have owned week one at the top of the podium.
First, China has relied on just two sports, shooting and diving, to amass eight of those gold medals.
At the French National Shooting Range in Châteauroux, Chinese athletes have been unflappable.
“I had good control over myself today," said Xie Yu after winning gold in the 10-meter air pistol men's final on Sunday.
"I woke up calm, without any stress. I was a little bit nervous but didn’t have any fear.”
The Chinese have also been all but untouchable in Paris on the diving board.
"They were pretty much flawless, which was amazing," said Thomas Daley of Great Britain on Monday after taking silver behind a pair of Chinese divers, Lian Junjie and Yang Hao, in the men's synchronized 10-meter platform final.
"Sometimes in training we watch how they dive and it gives us a little bit of hope. But then they turn it on."
The Chinese haven't been as strong in other disciplines. They're considered a rising power in international swimming, but a doping scandal hit China's swim team last April.
Clearly rattled by the scandal, China's athletes have won only one gold medal in the pool. At the Tokyo Games in 2021 they scored three swimming Olympic golds.
One other reason the U.S. lags in the gold medal count: U.S. swimmers have struggled.
Katie Ledecky has had another history-making Olympics, winning her 8th gold medal, along with a silver and a bronze.
But other athletes with big hopes, including Caeleb Dressel, Lilly King and Regan Smith, haven't reached the podium or have settled for silver or bronze.
In most Summer Olympics, America's swim team racks up 10 gold medals. This year, so far, they've only captured four.
One final note about China's place on the medal board.
The International Olympic Committee ranks nations by gold medals first. By that tally, China leads overall in these Paris Games overall.
But Team USA has long ranked nations by overall medals - including gold, silver and bronze.
By that tally, the U.S. leads with more than 40 medals, with host country France in second place with more than thirty medals.
Copyright 2024 NPR
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