All-conquering Chinese divers Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen bagged the first Olympic gold of their careers on Saturday with a superb victory in the women’s synchronised three-meter springboard final. Chang and Chen have been unbeatable in global diving events in recent years, winning gold at three straight world championships in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
They extended that run of dominance into the Olympic arena on Saturday, romping to victory with a total of 337.68 points. That left them comfortably ahead of the American duo of Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook, who took silver with 314.64 pts. Britain’s Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen won bronze with a final total of 302.28.
Chang and Chen’s victory launched China’s bid for a potential sweep of Olympic diving golds. Chinese divers won seven out of eight gold medals in Tokyo three years ago. The diving powerhouse has ruled the 3m springboard synchronised event since its introduction at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, winning gold on six out of seven occasions.
Sharpshooting Sheng, Huang win mixed rifle gold
Sharp-shooting Chinese teenagers Sheng Lihao and Huang Yuting bagged the first gold medal of the Olympic Games in the final of the 10-metre mixed team air rifle event. Sheng, who won an individual silver medal at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics three years ago at the age of 16, and Huang, 17, kept their cool to edge past South Korea’s Keum Ji-hyeon and Park Ha-jun 16-12.
Earlier, Kazakhstan’s Alexandra Le and Islam Satpayev won the first medal of the Games with an upset victory in the bronze medal match. Le and Satpayev cruised to victory over Germany’s Maximilian Ulbrich and Anna Janssen, outscoring their opponents 17-5 at Chateauroux.
France’s winning start in basketball
Victor Wembanyama scored a joint team-high 19 points as hosts France shrugged off a slow start to beat Brazil 78-66 in their opening game of the Olympic basketball.
France won silver in Tokyo three years ago and are hoping to go one better at home, boosted by the presence of last year’s top NBA draft pick and rookie of the year Wembanyama.
The French trailed by eight after the first quarter in Lille before taking charge in the second and third periods, with Nicolas Batum also contributing 19 points. San Antonio Spurs star Wembanyama, who is playing in his first international tournament for France, said he was blown away by the atmosphere at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
France play Japan in their second Group B game on Tuesday. World champions Germany beat Japan earlier in the day to launch their Olympic campaign, led by 22 points from Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner. Australia, bronze medallists at the last Olympics, took down Spain 92-80 with five different players reaching double digits in points, including Jock Landale who top-scored with 20.
Canada held off Greece 86-79 despite 34 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo in the second Group A game. The United States begin their bid for a fifth successive Olympic title today against Serbia, who can call upon three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
