Years of dedication and efforts have paid off for China as it has made surprises and reaped successes in the Athens Olympic Games, a leading official of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) said.
China has ranked in an unprecedented second place on the medal table with 32 golds, 17 silvers and 14 bronzes at the fortnight Athens Games.
"The medal total, especially the gold count, for these Olympics shows an increase from Sydney 2000 and a trend that would indicate a strong showing for 2008 in Beijing."
Sprinter Liu Xiang equaled the world record to win the men’s 110-meter hurdles Friday evening, which is the only gold medal for the Chinese men athletes in the track and field in the Olympic history.
Less than one hour later, Xing Huina won the women’s 10,000m by 30 minutes and 24.36 seconds.
Li Ting and Sun Tiantian won for China the first ever tennis medal with the gold in the women’s doubles, while Meng Guanliang and Yang Wenjun re-wrote the history with their victory in the men’s C2 500m canoe