South Korea: Lim Si-hyeon, Nam Su-hyeon, and Jeon Hun-young in Archery
Jeon Hun-young
Photo: Punit Paranjpe / AFP via Getty Images
The three first-time Olympians snagged a historic tenth gold medal win in women’s team archery, maintaining South Korea’s undefeated streak in the category. Impressively, Jeon hit perfect 10s with both her arrows during the first set, and the concluding shoot-off saw the judge take out a magnifying glass to confirm the team’s scores, making for an intense match.
Japan: Coco Yoshizawa in Street Skateboarding
Coco Yoshizawa
Photo: Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP via Getty Images
Fourteen-year-old Coco Yoshizawa of Japan took home a gold medal at her first-ever Olympics, scoring a staggering 96.49 on her fourth trick and earning herself a total of 272.75.
Hong Kong: Cheung Ka Long in Fencing
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Having performed stunningly at Tokyo 2020, Cheung yet again made his mark in Paris as the first athlete in Hong Kong history to win consecutive gold medals. The final against Italy’s Filippo Macchi was one of the most intense we’ve ever seen, with every review of the decisive point having audiences on the edges of their seats. His celebratory throw of the helmet was definitely a moment Hong Kong will never forget.
Hong Kong: Siobhán Haughey in Swimming
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Haughey took Hong Kong to new heights with her two wins at Paris 2024, officially making her the city’s most decorated Olympian. She performed impressively in the hundred- and two hundred-metre freestyle races this year – with times of 52:33 and 1:54:55 respectively – and gained herself two bronzes.
South Korea: Kim Ye-ji in Shooting
Kim Ye-ji
Photo: Charles McQuillan via Getty Images
Kim’s silver medal wasn’t the only thing she took away from the ten-metre air pistol shooting event. The Internet has gone crazy for the Olympic debutante’s fierce yet nonchalant appearance and her impeccable style. Kim was seen donning a black Fila anorak, a baseball cap decorated with the Korean flag, techy shooting glasses and a look of intense concentration. Action thriller debut, when?
China: Zheng Qinwen in Tennis
Zheng Qinwen
Photo: Clive Brunskill via Getty Images
Zheng is officially the first Asian athlete to snag an Olympic gold in tennis singles. She beat Croatia’s Donna Vekić 6-2, 6-3 in a thrilling final after defeating Iga Świątek, who carries world no. 1, in the semi-final. Zheng’s win became the latest addition to her roster of impressive feats, including her gold at the 2023 Asian Games.
Hong Kong: Vivian Kong Man-wai in Fencing
Vivian Kong Man-wai
Photo: Tnani Badreddine / DeFodi Images via Getty Images
Having already clinched the title of world number one in women’s épée, Hong Kong’s Vivian Kong Man-wai smashed the Olympic final against France’s Auriane Mello-Breton 13-12 after making a triumphant comeback, leveling the score after being down 7-1. Kong now joins windsurfer Lee Lai-shan and foil fencer Cheung Ka-long in bringing home Olympic gold, snagging the city a third gold medal.
Philippines: Carlos Yulo in Gymnastics
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Yulo started off triumphantly with the men’s floor exercise, scoring an impressive 15.000 and earning the Philippines its second ever Olympic gold. But the first Filipino male athlete to achieve Olympic victory didn’t stop there. His fiery two-day streak saw another show-stopping performance on the vault, producing an average score of 15.116 and leading him to yet another gold and the title of first Filipino to win multiple medals in an Olympic Games.
India: Manu Bhaker in Shooting
Manu Bhaker
Photo: Alain Jocard / AFP via Getty Images
Earning two bronze medals for India this year was shooter Manu Bhaker – she won the awards in the women’s and mixed 10m air pistol events, making her the first Indian woman to win multiple medals at one Olympics, and the first Indian female shooter to win an Olympic medal. She has been aptly chosen as India’s female flagbearer for the Paris 2024 closing ceremony.
China: Quan Hongchan in Diving
Quan Hongchan
Photo: Amin Mohammad Jamali via Getty Images
Achieving a perfect score on one of her five dives at the women’s 10-metre platform was China’s Quan Hongchan, who ended up winning the gold for the event. Earlier, Quan joined forces with fellow Chinese female diver Chen Yuxi to snag another gold in the women’s 10-metre platform synchro. At only seventeen years old, Quan became the youngest three-time gold medalist of China in history, and she’s also gone viral for her immaculate splash-less dives.
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