Japan wins first swimming gold at Tokyo Olympics: Australia break world record
Kanako Mita and Sawako Utsumi
Modern Tokyo Times
Japan won its first swimming gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics after Yui Ohashi won the 400-meter individual medley after her amazing breaststroke leg. Emma Weyant of America, the silver medalist, did challenge late on along with her compatriot Hali Flickinger who took bronze. However, the tenacious Ohashi held on to claim a brilliant gold medal for the host nation.
The performance of Ohashi will inspire other Japanese swimmers over the coming days. This concerns the mental strength she showed by taking the race by the bull of the horns and simply going for it.
Of the four swimming golds on offer, they were shared between America, Australia, Japan, and Tunisia. Yet, in terms of the shock result, this goes down to the great performance of the young Ahmed Hafnaoui from Tunisia. He won a very tight 400-meters freestyle.
Hafnaoui said, “I just can’t believe it. It’s a dream and it became true. It was great. it was my best race ever.”
In the women’s 4×100 meters freestyle relay, the Australian team blew all competitors away to win a brilliant gold. Not surprisingly, they broke the world record. This typifies the domination of the women’s freestyle team from Australia in recent years. Therefore, the world record brought great joy to Bronte Campbell, Cate Campbell, Emma McKeon, and Meg Harris – with Canada claiming the silver medal from America who won bronze.
America’s gold medal came in the men’s individual medley with the victory of Chase Kalisz. He beat his compatriot Jay Litherland for an American one-two.
Kalisz uttered, “It means the world. This is the last thing that I really wanted to accomplish in my swimming career.”
The swimming was a treat to watch but marred by the morning schedule to placate America and big money. Sadly, it appears that Japanese elites don’t concern themselves with people in Japan – after all, countless millions of workers will have little chance to view the swimming finals during working days.
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