Chinese fans, state media bask in golden glow of Olympic success

BEIJING – China celebrated one of its best Olympic performances as state media attempted to score political points from the golden haul won by its athletes at the Paris Games.

China racked up 40 gold medals in the French capital, level with the United States, in their best performance at an overseas Olympics. However, they trailed their geopolitical rival in the overall medal count (91 to 126).

But some fans on Aug 13 still declared China the true winners, if medals won by the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong and self-ruled Chinese Taipei were included.

“We are No. 1 out of sovereign countries,” read one comment with more than 1,300 likes on the X-like Weibo social media platform.

Many similar posts included images of an adjusted medal table with medals won by Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei – they won two golds each – added to China’s total.

China last beat the United States in the gold-medal count at the Beijing Games in 2008 (48 to 36).

State media outlet the Beijing Daily linked China’s Olympic success to broader national development.

China had wanted gold medals in the past to prove to the world “we can do it” but its athletes now have “confidence and vigour”, which it attributed to “the dual miracles of China’s rapid development and long-term social stability”.

A hashtag related to China’s historic medal count had gained 920 million views by Aug 13.

State news agency Xinhua posted an article on Aug 12 that lauded China’s athletes for “spreading friendship and making friends”.

But it also praised them for resisting “malicious provocations”, a reference to the doping controversy that engulfed its swimmers before the Games.

The swimming team instead used their “strength to slap down the foreign media’s continuous slander”.

“When faced with malice, they dare to fight back; when presented with kindness, Chinese athletes will reciprocate,” Xinhua said.

The New York Times reported in April that 23 swimmers tested positive for a banned substance before the Tokyo Games, with US authorities accusing Wada, the global anti-doping agency, of a cover-up.

One internet user claimed: “The doping Americans still can’t beat us clean Chinese.”

Several other popular comments accused the US team of cheating, claims tied to the Chinese anti-doping agency’s allegations of “systemic” doping abuses.

Others pointed to the size of the US and Chinese teams as evidence that China was more successful.

The United States took around 600 athletes to the Paris Games, compared to around 400 from China.

State-linked nationalist tabloid the Global Times wrote that China’s successes “should not be viewed in isolation”.

“This shift itself is a reflection of an unstoppable historical trend,” it wrote.

Several comments that drew thousands of likes also complained that Chinese boxer Yang Liu, who lost the women’s welterweight final, deserved gold.

Yang was beaten by Algerian Imane Khelif, who was at the centre of a gender-eligibility row.

Sports fans in China have not always been so supportive and authorities had vowed to crack down on online abuse directed at athletes.

Police in Beijing arrested a woman last week for posting defamatory online comments about athletes and coaches after the all-Chinese women’s singles table tennis final.

Police in Guangzhou also said on Aug 13 they had arrested a 38-year-old woman surnamed Wang, who had been posting abusive messages about the Chinese team since May. AFP