customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

summary

updatedDate

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Tom Bell

Hong Kong’s fourth medal of the Paris Olympics arrived as hoped overnight, but gold remained elusive for Siobhan Haughey.
Other notable names missed the podium altogether, as the city’s badminton contenders made an emotional exit and two illustrious halves of a Spanish portmanteau bade farewell to the tennis competition.
But the night reiterated that there were still some certainties: death, taxes, Katie Ledecky and the US men’s basketball team.
And after Ledecky’s display of endurance in the pool came a stunning demonstration of power to end day five, as Pan Zhanle’s world record interrupted a string of below-par showings by China’s swimmers.

Bronze again for Haughey
The 100 metres freestyle had looked Haughey’s best chance of gold in Paris: she had qualified fastest for the final and owns the third fastest time in history. She is world champion in the 200m freestyle, but form had suggested her Australian rivals would be quicker on Monday, which proved the case as she took bronze.
That outcome was repeated in the shorter distance on Wednesday. Third fastest out of the blocks and second at halfway, she surged late but not as swiftly as Sarah Sjostrom, the world record-holder from Sweden, who won in 52.16 seconds.
Torri Huske of the United States took silver in 52.29, with Haughey’s 52.33 nudging Mollie O’Callaghan, who won the 200m, out of the prizes.
You can read our full report here.

Adios, Nadalcaraz
Spain had partnered giants of two eras in the hope of winning tennis doubles gold, but that prospect was extinguished when they were beaten in the quarter-finals.
A pairing of Rafael Nadal, in the autumn of his career, and Carlos Alcaraz, in the spring of his, was a dream ticket for fans of sporting fairy tales.
But while “Nadalcaraz” was a lovely idea, the duo were unseeded, and ran up against harsh reality in the shape of the fourth seeds, Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram of the US.
Krajicek and Ram won 6-2, 6-4 to progress to a semi-final with Tomas Machac and Adam Pavlasek of Czechia.
Badminton: it meant so much
If the Spaniards’ departure will have disappointed some, the emotions can scarcely have run deeper than they did for Hong Kong badminton duo Tang Chun-man and Tse Ying-suet.

Harbouring hopes of a medal, the pair fell a round short of being able to fight for one, losing their quarter-final to South Korea’s Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung.
Their interview afterwards was conducted in floods of tears – heart-wrenching to witness, though admirable in its passion.
“It was really hard, both physically and mentally – we had to endure a lot of things, not just this month, but this year-and-a-half has been really hard,” Tse sobbed.
“Our results were really bad before Olympic training, and we both worked very hard to overcome every barrier to restore our confidence.
“We have been high and low for so many years and I have been injured so many times.”
Pan’s world record
China finally had a session to remember at La Defense Arena.
First, Zhang Yufei, among the country’s most decorated and popular swimmers, won her 200m butterfly semi-final and looked closer to her best self – although Canada’s teen sensation Summer McIntosh and Regan Smith of the US both went a little quicker in the other semi.
Then the Chinese claimed their first swimming gold of these Games, and did so in emphatic style as Pan Zhanle won the men’s 100m freestyle in a world record time.
The 19-year-old from Zhejiang flew up and down in 46.40 seconds, slicing 0.4 seconds off his own record, set at the world championships in February.

The pool in Paris was supposedly too slow – not deep enough, apparently – for world bests, but Pan blew that theory out of the shallow water.
Almost at the other end of the scale was the 1,500m freestyle, in which the US’ Katie Ledecky collected her eighth career Olympic gold, by a predictably large margin.
Her Games record time of 15 minutes, 30.02 seconds left second and third-placed Anastasiia Kirpichnikova of France and Isabel Gose of Germany trailing 10 and 11 seconds behind, and Li Bingjie of China lagging by 31.
Perhaps they should have raised the podium’s highest step to reflect it.
Avengers charge on
The US men’s basketball team beat debutants South Sudan 103-86 in their second group game, having brushed aside Servia in their first.
Miami Heat centre Bam Adebayo led the scoring for the team dubbed the Avengers, with 18 points, and Kevin Durant added 14. Stephen Curry had a night to forget, chipping in only three points, including missing all six of his shots from behind the arc.
The Americans guaranteed a quarter-final spot with a game against Puerto Rico still to play – as if that had been in doubt.
Join our sports quiz this Friday to win flights, staycation packages, dining vouchers and much more. Learn more: sc.mp/sports-quiz


Legacy of Paris Games will live on far beyond 2024

Hong Kong Sports Commissioner Sam Wong quits 1 year into job

IOC’s complicated election rules could block Sebastian Coe’s bid to become president

Australia hockey star nets 12-month ban after attempted cocaine purchase at Paris Olympics

Paris 2024 Olympic Games

While you were sleeping: 5 things to know after Pan gold, Haughey bronze at Paris Olympics

China’s Pan Zhanle raises a fist after breaking the world record on his way to gold. Photo: AFP

Winner Sarah Sjostrom (centre) is applauded on to the podium by Siobhan Haughey (right). Photo: AP

Rafael Nadal (left) and Carlos Alcaraz manage a smile despite their doubles quarter-final loss. Photo: AFP

Tse Ying-suet takes a tumble as she and Tang Chun-man crashed out of the Games. Photo: AFP

Pan Zhanle of China displays his medal during the ceremony for the men’s 100m freestyle. Photo: Xinhua

Paris Olympics: Hongkonger Vivian Kong to take break before deciding on Games gold defence

Vivian Kong will “take a good break” before making a decision over her fencing future. Photo: SF&OC

Vivian Kong worked every day with coach Octavian Zidaru to prepare for her gold medal campaign. Photo: AP

A pre-Olympics injury problem alleviated the pressure on fencing champion Vivian Kong. Photo: Xinhua

Paris Olympics: China’s Wang refuses to blame shock table tennis loss on damaged paddle

Wang Chuqin has been knocked out in the round of 32 in the men’s singles. Photo: Xinhua

Sweden’s Truls Moregard celebrates after beating China’s Wang Chuqin. Photo: AFP

Paris Olympics: Chinese teens exciting social media on their surfboards and skateboards

Yang Siqi of China, who is China’s first Olympic surfer, has been described as “an absolute warrior” by sports commentators. Photo: AP

Yang Siqi, who is just 15, will be up against the United States’ Caroline Marks in the last-16 third round. Photo: AP

Cui Chenxi finished fourth in the women’s street final – China’s best result in skateboarding since its debut in Tokyo. Photo: Xinhua

Zheng Haohao, at 11 the youngest member of China’s delegation, will compete on Tuesday in the women’s park event. Photo: Weibo

Sport

Paris Olympics 2024

Aquatics

China

Hong Kong

Pan Zhanle’s world record brings his nation’s first gold in pool of these Olympics, while it’s bronze again for Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey


Pan Zhanle’s world record brings his nation’s first gold in pool of these Olympics, while it’s bronze again for Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey.


Pan Zhanle (潘展樂)

Puerto Rico