Tokyo (AFP)
The Chinese swimmers surprised Thursday by becoming Olympic champions in the 4x200 m freestyle relay at the Tokyo Olympics, with a new world record (7:40 a.m. 33/100), ahead of the Americans and Australians.
Gone very quickly, Junxuan Yang, Muhan Tang, Yufei Zhang and Bingjie Li resisted the return of the six-time Olympic champion Katie Ledecky, who offered silver to the American titles in 2016 in Rio (7: 40.73), the champions of the Australian world settling for bronze (7.41: 29).
Qualified with the seventh fastest time, the French women finished eighth (7: 58.15).
Holders since 2019 of the old world record broken by the three medal-winning relays (7: 41.50), the Australians were betting on their new star Ariarne Titmus, Olympic champion in the 400m on Monday and the 200m on Wednesday, to put them into orbit.
But the 20-year-old swimmer, perhaps blunted by the debauchery of efforts and emotions of her first Games, completed a first stint (1:54 51) far from her best times, touching behind Junxuan Yang.
If the sprinter Emma McKeon, just qualified for the 100m final with the best time in the half, then Madison Wilson kept Australia in contact with the Chinese, the American relay appeared behind.
It was before a last heroic relay of Katie Ledecky, dethroned by Titmus over 400 m (2nd) and even more clearly over 200 m (5th) but in gold over 1,500 m, who passed the Australian Leah Neale to return to the elbow shoulder to shoulder with Bingjie Li.
Despite her time (1: 53.76), by far the fastest of the last relay runners, she failed a few gold dust to pocket her second silver medal of these Games.
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