Aleksandra Mirosław successfully finished climbing a fifteen-meter wall in six seconds, making her the first athlete to win gold in the sport of speed climbing in the Olympics. She defeated Deng Lijuan from China in the final event.
With her victory, the athlete expressed: “A long story short, it’s like a dream come true moment… It’s as simple as that. … It’s the first [gold medal] in history, so it’s really awesome. I’m really happy and really proud of myself. It will be with me forever.”
Climbing as an Olympic sport
Three years ago in Tokyo, climbing made its Olympic debut with three disciplines: lead, bouldering, and speed. However, the format has been modified in this year’s Olympics, with a separate set of medals now given for speed climbing.
Mirosław, even though she was the fastest climber in the world and won the final, she only managed a fourth place finish in Tokyo, almost missing out on the medals.
She admitted: “I never have been specialized in boulder or lead, I was always a speed climber… So it’s a big privilege to be here and have the opportunity to compete in my discipline. But on the other hand, it doesn’t mean it’s easier. It’s much harder, I would say.”
Miroslaw beat Deng in the final, setting a new world record of 6.06 seconds, which is 0.04 seconds faster than her previous best. Her first record, from the Tokyo Olympics, was achieved nearly a full second faster.
“I just focused on myself, on my next round, and before every round it was like that, just run… Whatever happened, just run,” she remarked.
Australia’s Jessica Fox, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics’ canoe slalom champion, finally won the medal she always wanted in her fourth Summer Games.
Fox, 30, stormed to Olympic gold in the women’s kayak slalom in a time of 96.08 seconds at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium on Sunday (July 28).
Jessica Fox – Australia 🇦🇺 Olympic Gold medal in the K1.
Her 2nd Olympic gold and finally the one in the K1
A winning time of 96.08 pic.twitter.com/9OGkNnKzS6
Poland’s Klaudia Zwolinska picked up the silver medal, and Briton Kimberley Woods took the bronze.
French-born Fox, the eight-time canoe slalom world champion, was one of the two Australian flag bearers at the Olympics opening ceremony in Paris on Friday (July 26).
She came first in Saturday’s kayak slalom heat but struggled in the semi-final, ending up as the eighth of 12 finalists, but recovered form to win gold.
Fox’s Olympic medals
Fox won the gold medal in canoe slalom (C1) at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where the sport made its debut.
However, the kayak slalom gold eluded her in her three previous Games.
She won silver in the kayak slalom at the 2012 London Games and bronze in the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Games.
Family of Olympian canoeists
Fox, who will be defending her Olympic canoe slalom title, comes from a family of Olympian canoeists.
Her younger sister, Noemi Fox, 27, is making her Olympic debut in Paris, competing in the women’s kayak cross event.
Their mother, Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi, who coaches Jessica, won bronze for France in kayak slalom at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games. Their father, Richard Fox, paddled for Britain in the kayak slalom event at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
BUDAPEST, Hungary- As the World Athletics Championships drew to a close, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, 21, brought down the house as she clinched the first and only gold medal at women’s world high jump for her war-afflicted country, Ukraine.
On Sunday, Aug 27, she finished off the evening with her heart-stopping performance as she managed to leap 2.01 meters (6 feets and 7 inches) into the air, beating the defending champion Eleanor Patterson’s record of 1.99 meters.
Mahuchikh was one of 29 athletes from Ukraine who qualified for the World Athletics Championships.
“I am so proud to win this gold for my country. I can’t wait to go back and show this medal to my coach,” said Mahuchikh.
“I (had) to win this gold for my country and all Ukrainian people who are still fighting for peace in Ukraine and for our independence.”
“Thanks to them we have this unique possibility to compete at the international arena and to raise our flag.”, the 21 year old added.
It was definitely a meaningful win for both Ukraine and the 21 year old Mahuchikh as she had to flee from Dnipro, her hometown, because of the war against Russia.
She also adds that it has always been a dream of hers to become the best woman high jumper and to win gold at the championships.
“I have been one of the best woman high jumpers over the last few years and I badly wanted to become the best in the world officially. Before every single one of my jumps tonight I said to myself that I have to win gold. Only gold.”, said Mahuchikh.
Finally, Mahuchikh expressed her excitement towards Paris olympics in 2024:
“Tomorrow we will start the next stage of our preparation. I am looking forward to get another title from the Olympics in Paris.”
In addition to the silver Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk won in the triple jump two nights earlier, this was Ukraine’s first gold medal ever and their second overall.
Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine surpasses the 1987 world record for women’s high jump
Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine broke the 1987 mark in the women’s high jump by leaping 2.10 meters at the Paris Diamond League to set a new global record.
The 22-year-old world champion dismissed the idea that she may now have been a clear favorite for the upcoming Olympics, even though she is setting historic records as of the moment.
With her win, the youngster declared: “I am looking forward to the Olympic Games here. I am sure it will be a great competition with an even better atmosphere, but I know it will be hard and very competitive.”
On setting a new world record
With two successful attempts at clearing the 2.01-meter height, the Ukrainian outperformed Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers, the world indoor champion. Mahuchikh cleared 2.03 meters on her second try, but Olyslagers failed in three tries.
Setting a new record for Ukraine, Mahuchikh, the bronze medallist at the Tokyo Olympics, pushed the bar to 2.07 meters and cleared it again on her second try. She raised the bar to 2.10 meters, which she cleared on her first attempt. The crowd cheered as she broke Bulgarian Stefka Kostadinova’s 1987 record by one centimeter.
“Finally, I signed Ukraine into the history of world athletics,” Mahuchikh expressed.
Olympic debutante Zheng Qinwen becomes China’s first Olympic tennis singles champion; she won’t be the last, says Xinhua
Olympic debutante 21-year-old Zheng Qinwen, became the first Chinese player to win an Olympic tennis singles gold medal when she defeated Croatia’s Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3 in a thrilling final in Paris on Saturday (August 3).
She won’t be the last Chinese Olympic tennis champion, asserted China’s Xinhua News Agency in a burst of patriotic pride.
Praising the young tennis player, Xinhua said: “At 21, the gold could perhaps be the first of many medals for her at the Olympics, or it could be her last. However, one thing is for sure: the gold, and the inspiration that it will provide to young girls and boys back in her homeland, won’t be the last for China.”
Zheng’s victory completed a memorable week for China after Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen claimed the silver medal in the mixed doubles in tennis on Friday.
Though a new face in the Summer Games, Zheng had already proved her mettle. She was a finalist in the 2024 Australian Open, where she lost to the defending Aryna Sabalenka.
In the Paris Olympic final, she seemed the stronger contender. Zheng is the world No 7, her opponent Donna Vekic, 28, is No. 21.
Zheng also caused the biggest upset in the tournament beating the favourite and world No 1 Iga Swiatek In the semi-finals.
Moreover, she had the crowd behind her. A large Chinese contingent inside Roland Garros’s Court Philippe Chatrier cheered her on.
Vekic also had a good run. She advanced to the semi-finals at Wimbledon before competing in the Paris Olympics, where she defeated the US Open champion Coco Gauff.
Zheng, however, got the better of Vekic, defeating her in straight sets with the same powerful serves and groundstrokes she used to eliminate Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals.
Serving for the match at 5-3, Zheng reached match points as Vekic drove a backhand wide. Zheng finished the match with a well-placed forehand winner before falling to her back with joy.
Poland’s Swiatek finished with the bronze medal after beating Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2, 6-1 on Friday. She snapped a selfie with Zheng and Vekic during the medal ceremony.
“To win a medal for Croatia was a lifelong dream,” the 28-year-old said. “I wanted gold but still so happy and so proud. She was better than me today and deserved it.”
China’s only other Olympic gold medal in tennis came in 2004 when Li Ting and Sun Tian-Tian won the women’s doubles in Athens.
Zheng’s aspirations
Zheng said she wanted to be a role model. “I always want to become one of the Asians that can inspire young kids and make them love tennis more, because tennis is such a great sport, especially for girls. You need to fight. You need to have strength. You need to be fast,” said Zheng, who signed several autographs for members of the crowd after the match. “After this gold medal, I feel, finally, I can play tennis more relaxed.”
She still has to match her idol, though. Zheng looks up to Li Na, the only Chinese player to win Grand Slam singles titles — at the 2011 French Open and 2014 Australian Open .
“I have always been jealous of history-makers like Li Na,” Zheng said. “No matter what, she’s always the first, because she’s the first Asian player to win a Grand Slam. And I now become the first Asian player to win Olympic gold. I made history, as well. However, I still have a long way to go, because winning a Grand Slam is always my dream.”
She also spoke about her parents, who introduced her to tennis when she was seven years old. Her mother left her her job when she was 12 to make sure she ate and slept properly. Her father always pushed her hard, making her practise even on the Chinese New Year, when “everybody rests. But me? There’s no day of rest.”
“My success is not only my success. A lot of that is coming from my parents,” Zheng said. “They teach me how to be disciplined. They teach me how to stay focused on your dream. They always believed in me.”
“This Olympic journey has not been easy,” she said. “But there is a strength holding me. I never give up.”
Zheng said, “I felt like I represented all of Chinese tennis, knowing the Chinese people were cheering for me. Winning the gold made all the hard work and struggles worthwhile,” reported Xinhua.
Mondo Duplantis smashes his own world record in pole vault at the Silesia Diamond League
Mondo Duplantis of Sweden smashed his own world record in the pole vault at the Silesia Diamond League competition, clearing 6.26 metres on his second try.
The athlete broke the world record for the tenth time, surpassing the record of 6.25 meters that he cleared as he held onto his Olympic gold medal in the Paris Games earlier this month. Moreover, this was also his third record-breaking performance of the year.
In a social media post, he shared his exceptional achievement with a caption: “Straight back to it”
Duplantis won in Lausanne with a clear round of 6.15, but the Polish crowd at the Silesia Stadium in Chorzow was holding their breath when he raised the bar to 6.26 after going over at six metres.
After breaking the world mark for the ninth time at the Olympics in Paris, the 24-year-old delighted the Stade de France audience, and there was always a sense that Duplantis was not finished.
