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China revelves in national glory as medal haul record is broken
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Chinese volleyball players celebrate their Olympic gold medal.
Their triumph make the country's media bask in nationalist glory as it
celebrated the best Chinese performance at the Olympic Games yet with four more
gold medals. [xinhua]
Luo Wei celebrates after defeating Elisavet Mystakidou from Greece
to win the gold medal in women's under 67kg at taekwondo, Saturday, Aug. 28,
2004, at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. [AP]
Mathew Helm from Australia, China's Hu Jia and Tian Liang (L-R)
pose on the podium during the medal ceremony of the men's 10m platform diving
final at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games August 28, 2004.
[Xinhua]
Meng Guanliang and Yang Wenjun celebrate after winning men's C2
500m race in one minute 40.278 seconds on Saturday at Athens Olympic regatta,
the first gold for China's canoeing sport in the Olympic history.
[sina]
China's state media was basking in nationalist glory as
it celebrated the best Chinese performance at the Olympic Games yet with four
more gold medals.
"It's a new milestone for Chinese sports," the Xinhua news
agency editorialized. "Today is a holiday for the Chinese people."
China
advanced to 31 gold medals Saturday, three behind medal standings leader the
United States to continue their record-breaking exploits in Athens.
"Gold medals, one after the other. Red flags being hoisted, to form a
sea of red flags," Xinhua said, breaking into stream-of-consciousness prose.
"The tears, the irrepressible tears! If you want to cry, by all means cry!"
Chinese sports journalists on Sunday were still celebrating Liu Xiang's
world record-equalling run two days earlier in the 110-meters hurdles event to
become the first Chinese man to win an Olympic athletics gold.
China's Liu Xiang celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win
the men's 110 metres hurdle final at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games August 27,
2004. China's Liu Xiang won gold in 12.91 seconds ahead of Terrence Trammel of
the U.S. and Cuba's Anier Garcia. [Reuters]
Liu ran 12.91 seconds
to match Colin Jackson's world record set at the 1993 world championships in
Stuttgart, relegating American Terrence Trammell into silver and Cuban defending
champion Anier Garcia into bronze.
What Liu did was showing the world the
meaning of "Chinese speed," the Yangcheng Evening News said.
"Liu Xiang
didn't just conquer the hurdles in the field. He conquered 108 years of Asian
humiliation in this particular event," it said.
"He created a sports
miracle to match the miracle of China's economic take-off," it said.
On
Saturday, Luo Wei won the women's taekwondo under-67kg beating Elisavet
Mystakidou of Greece for only China's second Olympic taekwondo gold medal since
the Korean-born combat sport made its debut at the 2000 Sydney Games.
Canoeists Meng Guanliang and Yang Wenjun had a thrilling men's flatwater
canoe C2 500 metres final in which six boats finished within 0.58 seconds of
each other.
The gold medals kept on coming in the evening with China's
women downing Russia in the volleyball and Hu Jia coming from behind to give his
nation a record sixth Olympic diving gold in the men's ten-metre
platform.
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(Editor:Caroline) (From:ChinaDaily)
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