August 10, 2024 at 10:55 AM EST
PARIS — China produced a stunning performance in rhythmic gymnastics on Saturday, narrowly beating Israel and Italy to become the first non-European nation to win Olympic gold in the team event.
The five-member Chinese women's team received a total of 69.800 points in the final, which was divided into two categories: hoop routines and ribbon and ball routines. China came in first in the eight-team final in the hoop routine and third in the other routines, 0.950 points behind Israel.
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Italy won the bronze medal, 1,700 points behind China.
The silver medal is Israel's first in rhythmic gymnastics, having won at the world championships last fall.
Defending Olympic champions Bulgaria dropped to fourth place.
Russia has dominated the team competition since its Olympic debut in Atlanta in 1996, winning five gold medals in the team event. Russia's absence from the Paris Games due to its invasion of Ukraine opened the door for other nations.
China went into the Olympics having won silver at the 2008 Beijing Games as the only non-European team to win a medal in a group final, and spent two hours at the Porte de la Chapelle arena doubling its medal total, signalling a growing influence in a sport where power has been concentrated for decades.
“We have been waiting for this moment for a long time,” said China's national team coach Sun Dan, “Because it is rhythmic gymnastics, art has no borders. In this competition we should draw inspiration from the richness of all cultures and we wanted to showcase the Chinese style. Here we see the connection between art and sport and we are very happy that we have finally achieved good results after so many years of hard work.”
