(Tokyo Olympics) Zhang Liang/Liu Zhiyu won the first men's event medal for Chinese rowing
China News Service, Tokyo, July 28 (Reporter Yue Chuan) The men's double scull final of the Tokyo Olympic rowing event was held on the 28th local time.
World Championship champion and Chinese combination Zhang Liang/Liu Zhiyu hit the line for the third time with a score of 6:03.63 and won the third place.
This is the first men's event medal won by the Chinese rowing team in the Olympic Games.
The 34-year-old Zhang Liang is one of the banner figures of Chinese rowing. He participated in the 2012 London Olympics.
In 2017, he started partnering with Liu Zhiyu, who is 6 years younger than himself, and won the men's double scull gold medal in the 2019 World Championships in one fell swoop. This is the first time that the Chinese rowing team won the men's Olympic event at the World Championships.
In the preliminaries and semifinals of the men's double sculls of the Tokyo Olympics, Zhang Liang/Liu Zhiyu both advanced to the second place in the same group, thus successfully advancing to the finals of Group A that started on the 28th.
A total of six teams entered the finals of the group A of the project, in addition to Zhang Liang/Liu Zhiyu, there are also combinations from the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Poland and Switzerland.
In the final, Zhang Liang/Liu Zhiyu ranked third in the first 500 meters and rose to the first place at the 1,000-meter mark.
Entering the back course, the combination of France and the Netherlands exerted their strength and gradually opened up the distance with other opponents, and respectively hit the line with the first two.
Zhang Liang/Liu Zhiyu finally won the third place with a score of 6:03.63.
This is the first time that the Chinese rowing team has won a medal in the men's Olympic Games and achieved a historic breakthrough.
After the game, Zhang Liang said that he and Liu Zhiyu had fully prepared for the game. This bronze medal proved that the Chinese can compete with the strong European teams in this event.
"Our goal is to raise the national flag and play the national anthem, but the bronze medal is also a breakthrough." Liu Zhiyu said frankly that the Olympic Games were under pressure and the two played well today.
He said: "I hope this bronze medal can make the young athletes behind me believe in themselves more. As long as we practice well, we can achieve good results in the World Series." (End)