The China Story
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Along with records broken and medals celebrated, competing at the Olympics is more often littered with narrow defeats, last-gasp errors and mental meltdowns that build true character and sportsmanship.
Editor's note: With the Olympic stage set, and golden glory beckoning, Chinese athletes have been going all-out to ensure it will be a medal-laden campaign at Paris 2024.
As the Paris Olympics draw near, excitement is building for the athletics events, and Team China is hoping to build on a track and field purple patch — literally — on a newly laid, vibrantly colored Stade de France track.
China's track and field team is geared up and determined to outshine its impressive performance in Tokyo, where it clinched two golds, two silvers and two bronzes, setting numerous personal bests.
Now, with the Paris Games on the horizon, China is poised to make headlines in the women's shot put, discus, and men's long jump. The anticipation is also building as the Chinese sprint team prepares to shine on the global stage, aiming to turn its speed into Olympic glory.
As the defending champion in women's shot put, Gong Lijiao is set to lead the Chinese athletics team in Paris. Competing at her fifth Olympics, Gong is determined to defend her title.
At the Tokyo Games, Gong achieved a personal best of 20.58 meters, securing the gold medal. With an impressive record that includes Olympic, World Championship, Asian Games and National Games titles, as well as a top world ranking, Gong could have chosen to retire after her Tokyo triumph. Instead, she has decided to continue her journey, driven by the dream of one final victory.
This winter, the 35-year-old veteran has undergone a particularly grueling training regimen, intensifying her aerobic and physical conditioning to reach peak form just in time for Paris.
The path to defending her title will be challenging. Gong's best throw this season was 19.98 meters at a competition in Neubrandenburg in Germany in June. However, at the Glasgow Indoor World Championships in February, Canadian athlete Sarah Mitton won with a throw of 20.22 meters, and German athlete Yemisi Ogunleye took second place with a throw of 20.19 meters. Both will be formidable opponents in Gong's quest for second Olympic gold and a fourth medal overall.
"This is my fifth Olympic Games. Although I am very familiar with it, I am still doing my best to prepare. I want to produce a good performance at my fifth Olympics and leave no regrets behind," Gong told Shijiazhuang Daily, a newspaper in her North China hometown. "My goal is to always strive for the championship and to achieve my personal best."
For Gong, that means breaking the 21-meter mark. If she can achieve the feat in Paris, she will join just seven other female Olympians — and be the first to do it since Atlanta 1996.
Alongside Gong, discus thrower Feng Bin is a top contender for gold in Paris. At the National Athletics Championships on June 30, Feng clinched victory with an impressive throw of 67.21 meters.
The 30-year-old has been remarkably consistent this year, achieving throws over 67 meters in six consecutive competitions.
Feng previously competed in the Rio and Tokyo Olympics, but did not reach the podium. She made headlines at last year's Hangzhou Asian Games, where she secured the gold medal with a record-breaking throw of 67.93 meters, shattering a 13-year-old Asian Games record.
As the champion at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in the United States, Feng's personal best stands at 69.12 meters. She has set her sights on surpassing 70 meters and capturing gold in Paris.
This season has seen fierce competition in the women's discus event. Cuban athlete Yaime Perez recorded a throw of 73.09 meters in April, while at the Diamond League event in Xiamen, Fujian province in April, Valarie Allman of the US broke the meet record with a throw of 69.80 meters to secure the win.
"There is definitely pressure, but it actually makes me more excited. I thoroughly enjoy competing against high-level international athletes, as it further enhances my performance and competitiveness," Feng said.
Up for the challenge
In the jumping events, world long jump champion Wang Jianan is one to watch. The 27-year-old will compete in his third Olympic Games, determined to make the leap onto the Olympic podium.
Wang made his Olympic debut at Rio 2016, narrowly missing out on a medal by finishing fifth. He faced further disappointment at the Tokyo Olympics, failing to advance to the finals.
His redemption came a year later at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, where he won gold with a remarkable jump of 8.36 meters, earning China its first gold medal in any horizontal jumping event at a senior world championship.
"After this achievement, my goal is definitely to aim higher and farther. However, given my personality, I first need to understand and improve myself. Being competitive on the international stage is the most important thing," Wang said.
Last year, Wang defended his Asian Games title in Hangzhou with a jump of 8.22 meters. This season, he secured second place with a jump of 8.04 meters at the Diamond League event in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, in April.
"I believe the most important thing is to prepare well, cooperate with my coach and team, and make any adjustments that are needed," he said. "I hope to perform well in Paris and to make up for the disappointment in Tokyo," Wang added.
The women's 20-kilometer race walk has long been a powerhouse event for the Chinese team. This tradition of excellence dates back to the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where Wang Liping clinched the gold medal. The 2012 London Olympics saw an unprecedented sweep by Chinese athletes Qieyang Shijie, Liu Hong, and Lyu Xiuzhi, who won gold, silver, and bronze, respectively.
Liu continued her climb up the podium in Rio, winning the gold, and followed up with a bronze in Tokyo to complete the set.
As of now, China boasts 12 athletes, including Liu, who have qualified, while the final team roster is yet to be announced, there is no doubt that she will be among those striding toward the Paris podium.
Team China's sprinters are also looking to make their mark in Paris. Despite the absence of Su Bingtian, who famously ran 9.83 seconds in the 100 meters and helped secure a bronze medal in the men's 4x100m relay at the Tokyo Olympics, the men's sprint team remains strong under the leadership of Xie Zhenye.
In May, it clinched qualification for Paris at the World Athletics Relays in Nassau, the Bahamas. It demonstrated its prowess at last October's Asian Games, by overtaking the Japanese team in the final stretch to clinch the 4x100m gold.
Xie is not only focused on the relay, but will also compete in the men's 200m sprint. His ambitious goal is to make it into the final rounds across these events.
In the women's 100m hurdles, Wu Yanni and Lin Yuwei will carry the nation's hopes. Both athletes boast personal bests of 12.74 seconds, and are determined to achieve even greater results for China in Paris.
In a striking departure from conventional sporting appearances, the women's 100m hurdles final at last Sunday's National Athletics Championships showcased competitors who combined elegance and athleticism with buckets of confidence.
Chief among them was Wu Yanni. She started behind her rival Lin Yuwei, but a surge in the latter half of the race saw her claim victory with a personal best time of 12.74 seconds, marking an Asian best performance in the event so far this year.
Lin secured second place with a time of 13 seconds, while Chen Minjia and Xia Sining took third and fourth places, respectively.
Reflecting on her victory, Wu expressed her determination to present herself as the most stylish, confident, and capable version of herself on the track, a promise she felt she fulfilled admirably.
In a post on Douyin after the event, Wu thanked her supporters, stating: "I will continue to improve, and so will Chinese women's 100m hurdles."
The 26-year-old has courted controversy with her bold personality, her wearing of makeup, displaying her tattoos and incorporating flashy pre-race routines.
Responding to criticism, Wu emphasized that she is not seeking internet fame, but rather aiming for recognition based on her athletic prowess. Addressing the scrutiny, Wu noted that, "the more people doubt me, the harder I push myself in training".
She defended her choice to wear makeup before competing, describing it as an expression of confidence. "I believe it's perfectly normal for girls to wear makeup. I don't understand why this is blown out of proportion. Don't girls have the right to express their beauty?"
Reflecting on her approach, Wu expressed satisfaction in presenting her best self during those crucial seconds on the track. "If I achieve good results, that's even better," she concluded.
The rivalry between Wu and Lin, contenders for the title of China's top female hurdler, has continued from the Asian Games into this year's National Championships. They are poised to meet again on Paris 2024's iconic purple track.
Last August, at the 31st Summer Universiade in Chengdu, Sichuan province, Wu claimed the silver medal in the women's 100m hurdles with a then personal best time of 12.76 seconds, securing her qualification for the upcoming Paris Olympics.
Meanwhile, at last year's Asian Games in Hangzhou, 25-year-old Lin Yuwei took home the gold with a personal best of 12.74 seconds, also earning her ticket to the French capital this summer. Wu's performance in the event was nullified due to a false start.
Wu has had a standout year, achieving personal bests across various competitions. She broke her own record four times in the 60m hurdles and secured back-to-back victories in the women's 100m hurdles events at the World Athletics Continental Tour in Osaka and Tokyo.
As the Paris Olympics draws ever nearer, Wu shared her excitement on Weibo: "Reflecting on the past year and seeing where I am now, I feel blessed! The once-distant Olympic stage is now within reach. I'm eager and not nervous at all!"
Wu is realistic about the challenge: "I'll be delighted if I perform well. If I don't, I'll analyze and address any shortcomings."
It wasn't going to be a toe injury that would keep one of the world's biggest stars in sport climbing from getting to the Paris Olympics.
Defending champion Janja Garnbret kept practicing on one leg after her big toe "just broke" during a climb last year, grinding and training any way she could to get back into shape.
The eight-time world champion was able to recover from the rare injury and will be competing for a medal again in Paris.
No other athlete has won as many international climbing titles as Garnbret, who attracts just as many headlines for her dominance in the sport as she does for being an advocate for eradicating eating disorders from sport climbing.
"Everything is going to plan so far," Garnbret told reporters. "I'm not injured this year, or anything like that, so it's been good. It's been going well. I'm really happy with my form and shape and how everything is evolving."
Garnbret hurt her foot during a routine climb in February 2023, when her left big toe suddenly broke. Doctors struggled to find out what was wrong at first, raising concerns about her future.
"It was not easy. It was my first serious injury in my career," the Slovenian climber said. "I didn't know how to deal with it, because I hadn't experienced anything like this before. I had a lot of doubts and negative thoughts. I didn't even know if I would get back to the same level I was before.
"It was not easy, but I could still train and climb, I still had the right foot and both hands, so I was climbing with one foot."
Garnbret had to adjust her training routine to stay in shape and keep her foot strong.
"I never stopped training," she said. "I just couldn't do some things I would normally do, like slab climbing or like climbing longer routes. I couldn't do that, but everything else I could do. Then I saw that I was getting stronger, so it didn't bother me too much."
Garnbret said she worked so much on her injured left foot that it became stronger than the right one. She said she got tired more easily after the injury, but hasn't felt any pain and she is confident that she will be able to peak in Paris. She was able to start her Olympic preparations in November as originally planned.
Her results since returning from the injury have been promising, with a second place in boulder at a World Cup event in Prague in June 2023 in her first competition since the injury. She won both the boulder and lead events at a World Cup event in Innsbruck later that same month, and earned two gold medals at the world championships in Bern in August — in boulder and combined — as well as a silver in lead. She also won her home World Cup meet in Koper, Slovenia.
Veteran world champion Petra Klingler said Garnbret has been "pushing the bar for the whole sport to another level."
"Mentally, she's really, really strong," the Swiss climber said. "But, also, she's a hard worker. I guess talent and hard work is a good combination, but I think, also, next to that, just like the team she has built up over the years helps her a lot.
"So, I think there are many, many things about her that are just exceptional and come together perfectly to make her an amazing athlete."
This season Garnbret won lead and boulder at the two World Cup events she has participated in, both in China.
"I feel confident," said the 25-year-old Garnbret, who has been outspoken about eating disorders in the sport and called for officials to "not look away" from the problem.
In 2021, Garnbret made history, along with then-boyfriend Domen Skofic, by climbing the highest chimney in Europe, which is in Slovenia — a feat that took more than seven hours.
In 2019, Garnbret also made headlines by becoming the first climber to win all six boulder World Cup events, and she had a winning streak that ended in 2021 after nine consecutive victories.
Her career highlight came in Tokyo, when she triumphed in her Olympic debut for sport climbing.
All that matters now, is whether she will be able to defend her title in Paris to remain as the sport's only female Olympic champion.
Agencies via Xinhua
BEIJING - The Chinese Equestrian Association has announced the qualification list for the 2024 Paris Olympics as the list includes Hua Tian (Alex) and Sun Huadong, along with four horses.
Hua Tian and Sun Huadong, along with Bao Yingfeng and Liang Ruiji, participated in the equestrian eventing team competition at the Tokyo Olympics and secured the ninth place, marking the best-ever result for the Chinese team in this event.
At the Hangzhou Asian Games, the foursome won the team gold medal in eventing, while Hua Tian also claimed the individual gold in the same discipline.
At the age of 34, Hua Tian will embark on his fourth Olympic journey, following his appearances at Beijing 2008, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
From a sole representative in Tokyo, to a young quartet riding to Paris: Chinese skateboarders are hoping to make their increased presence felt on the Olympic stage, as the sport's popularity soars to new heights.
Not quite at the top yet, but showing a lot of promise during their ascent, the impressive collective performances of China's skateboarders at the Olympic Qualifier Series have helped ramp up the sport's profile as not just an urban pastime, but also a cool career — and a possible pathway to Olympic glory — that is particularly suited to the creativity and daring of youth.
Led by reigning Asian Games champion Cui Chenxi, China's emerging women's skateboarding squad stole the show at the OQS final leg in Budapest last week, bringing home three quota places in the street discipline — the maximum for each National Olympic Committee — and one in park for Paris 2024, where the sport will return as an official medal event following its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020.
Cui, a 14-year-old prodigy, repeated her deep run at last month's series opener in Shanghai by again riding into the final eight in Budapest, eventually finishing 8th in the overall Olympic World Skateboard Ranking after the doubleheader to clinch her ticket to Paris.
Pioneer Zeng Wenhui, China's only skater in Tokyo, also ended up above the top-20 cut, finishing in 12th place, to earn an Olympic spot, together with 13th-placed teen Zhu Yuanling, despite the fact they were both knocked out in the semifinals in Budapest.
Skateboarding's street event at the Olympics is competed over two sections, where each skater takes two 45-second runs on a course featuring stairs, ledges, curbs and handrails in the first phase, before each performing their best five tricks in the second.
A skater's final score is aggregated from their best run and the two best tricks, requiring a versatile repertoire imbued with quality, creativity and style to prevail.
While the trio of street specialists celebrated their Olympic berth, their younger compatriot Zheng Haohao capped China's Budapest trip with a happy surprise in the park event, when the schoolgirl squeezed into the Paris field despite finishing 26th in the overall rankings.
As the youngest in the field, Zheng, who is only 11 years old, will turn 12 on the closing day (Aug 11) of Paris 2024. However, she put her fearlessness, an integral part of the sport's identity, on display in the preliminary round, where she rode up against an established cast of Olympic medalists and X-Games winners in a discipline that involves athletes skating across a bowl-shaped course and performing gravity-defying tricks.
Not powerful enough yet to get as much air as her elite opponents, Zheng managed to impress with her smooth trick transitions and the variety of her repertoire, without having to launch herself high off the side of the sloping bowl to stomp dazzling tricks.
She failed to advance into the semis in Budapest, following a prelim run in Shanghai, but still snapped up a qualification berth for Paris after several skaters from Japan, Brazil and the United States, who'd finished above her on the day, were denied due to their respective NOCs' full-quota status.
With most of her peers busy preparing for their final exams at school, Zheng's booked a summer trip she's been longing for since she first rode a skateboard four years ago.
"I was watching an older girl competing in a qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics. She looked really cool, and I was fascinated by skateboarding right away," said Zheng, who is sure to be the youngest member of China's Paris Olympic delegation.
"It's been my dream to participate in the Olympics since then.
"Hopefully, I can go to visit the Eiffel Tower and check out the skateboarding parks in Paris. There must be a lot of French kids my age there. It should be fun riding with them," Zheng said of her Olympic trip bucket-list.
Wider recognition
Thanks to the Olympic exposure, skateboarding is gaining traction across China, highlighted by the bustling scenes at Shanghai's dockland park, where parents and kids joined long queues to sign up for entry-level junior courses during last month's qualifying event.
Stoked about the sport's bright future, Cui, who started skating only four years ago influenced by her dad, shared her advice for newcomers.
"If you're just starting, I want to encourage everyone to maintain their love for skateboarding," said Cui, who, at 13, became China's youngest ever Asian Games champion across all sports when she won gold in Hangzhou last year.
"Practice tricks with a positive mindset: If it doesn't work now, keep going every day, and eventually, it will. Stay persistent."
The sport's growing appeal among young fans has turned Team China's teen stars into highly sought-after spokespeople for a range of sponsors. Since signing an endorsement deal with the Chinese skateboarding team in September, high fashion and trendy sports brand FILA FUSION has seen its market awareness grow exponentially alongside Chinese skaters' increasing international presence.
Its tailor-made products for Team China, such as customized skateboarding shoes for Cui and Zeng, and classic outfits made with anti-friction fabrics and accessories, have helped Chinese skaters push beyond their limits on ramps, rails and slopes.
Donning the bright yellow and red — inspired by the national flag — and the brand's iconic blue, Chinese athletes wearing specially designed T-shirts passed the OQS tests in Shanghai and Budapest with, literally, flying colors.
Their workwear-inspired skateboard pants, using CORDURA fabric, also helped them try jaw-dropping tricks without worrying about rips or tears, thanks to the excellent strength and abrasion resistance of their outfits.
By hosting all kinds of skateboarding promotion events on the sidelines of top competitions, such as the Shanghai OQS leg, FILA FUSION is also helping grow skateboarding culture, increase access to the sport and encourage greater participation together with Chinese athletes.
Community outreach initiatives, such as the FUSION PARK event, is engaging with an increasing number of young skateboard enthusiasts, offering them a shared platform to perfect their skills, express themselves and promote the urban sport culture at the same time.
sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn
11-year-old Zheng Haohao from Huizhou, Guangdong province will compete in the women's park event during the 2024 Olympics in Paris as the youngest player in China's skateboarding team.
Zheng narrowly secured a spot in the event in the Olympic Qualification Series hosted in Shanghai and Budapest.
Zheng started to practice skateboarding at the age of seven. "Somebody told me skateboarding was fun and I bought one. It is fun indeed," she said.
"I practiced painting and dancing, but these are too quiet. It's real fun when the skate board flies up."
Zheng fell countless times during training, hurting her teeth and legs, said Wang Zhe, Zheng's mother. Wang wanted her daughter to quit but the girl chose to persist.
"One cannot persist without enough enthusiasm," Wang said, adding the girl practices skateboarding after school almost every day. "She probably does have sporting talent, but she is self-disciplined and hard-working for sure."
China's anti-doping authorities have hit back at what is described as groundless accusations made by overseas media and, in particular, its United States counterpart for manipulating facts and undermining the country's anti-doping efforts.
The China Anti-Doping Agency, known as CHINADA, issued a statement on Thursday against misrepresentations made by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) at a congressional hearing on Tuesday.
During the hearing, USADA CEO Travis Tygart made baseless accusations against CHINADA and the World Anti-Doping Agency, or WADA, claiming they were involved in "covering up an intentional doping case" involving 23 Chinese swimmers in early 2021. A comprehensive investigation had found that the swimmers were not at fault due to a mass contamination incident.
"This has severely undermined the reputation of CHINADA, WADA and the global anti-doping system. USADA's brazen 'long arm' jurisdiction is undoubtedly a manifestation of out-and-out hegemonism and imperiousness," said the CHINADA statement.
"Its intention to manipulate the case for political purposes is all too clear, which runs counter to the principles of fairness, justice and integrity it has claimed to champion.
"USADA is seeking to undermine the well-functioning world anti-doping order that the anti-doping community has worked hard to build and shake up, or even subvert the global anti-doping governance system, which is designated to serve the athletes all over the world equally so as to seize the global anti-doping leadership role. We strongly reject and oppose such move."
In response to the 2021 incident, WADA ran its own investigation on reports by CHINADA and reviewed the case strictly supported by an external consultation, before concluding that no athletes should be held accountable for doping violations. The 23 swimmers involved were proven to have ingested banned substance trimetazidine, or TMZ, unwittingly after inadvertently being exposed to it at a hotel so that their tests at the competition returned positive results for an "extremely low concentration" of the substance.
The case files, which were supposed to be kept confidential after having been concluded as contamination in order to protect the athletes involved, were somehow leaked to New York Times and the German radio network ARD, which published hyped reports on an otherwise would-remain-undisclosed case in April, three months ahead of the Paris Olympic Games, which open on July 26.
"Regarding the request of the USADA CEO at the hearing to review the case file of the TMZ contamination case, its purpose is to legitimize the illegal access to and unauthorized disclosure of the information in the case file by media outlets including the New York Times and ARD, and then form distorted and misleading conclusions through the so-called review and investigation with already preconceived judgement, so as to reach the purpose of politicization of the contamination case," CHINADA said in its statement.
WADA also responded fiercely to USADA's misleading accusation, criticizing the agency for politicizing anti-doping and calling it hypocritical and displaying double-standards in a statement published on Wednesday.
WADA President Witold Banka gave the example of a case involving US athlete Erriyon Knighton to illustrate USADA's double standard.
The promising sprinter tested positive for a banned steroid earlier this year but was allowed to compete in the US trials for the Paris Olympics after an arbitrator ruled this as a no-fault contamination case in mid-June.
"Without commenting on the merits, it is difficult to understand how USADA can declare in a statement that 'justice was served' in this case, given it had argued in the hearing that the analytical result was incompatible with meat contamination and had sought a sanction of four years against the athlete. It is particularly intriguing that USADA made this sudden U-turn in its opinion without even having seen the reasoned decision, which is not yet available," Banka said.
"I cannot help but wonder what USADA would be saying if this had involved an athlete in China."
Luan Yushuai, known virtually as China's fastest deliveryman working in Beijing, was picked to join the amateur marathon event of the Paris Olympics in August. He practices his running skills through his daily work - using stairs whenever possible with weight bags on his legs.
The race will kick off on August 10, when the amateur?group will be for the first time introduced to the Olympics.
A deliveryman in Beijing has secured a spot in the Mass Participation Marathon, a special event set to run alongside the Olympic marathon at the upcoming Paris Olympics, making him one of 40,048 runners selected from all over the world.
Luan Yushuai, 39, has been delivering packages for nine years. Known as the "fastest deliveryman" by netizens, Luan gained recognition in 2021 by winning first place among nonprofessional runners in the Beijing Half Marathon. Now, he is set to participate in the public marathon at the Paris Olympics, a new event open to amateur runners.
Luan described the moment he received his acceptance email on Chinese New Year's Eve: "It was from the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee. The email was in English, so I quickly translated it. It read, 'Congratulations, Yushuai, you have been selected for the Olympics.' I was ecstatic."
Luan began preparing for the marathon in 2021 after learning about the registration process. To qualify, participants had to accumulate 100,000 points by the end of last year through various physical activities like running, swimming, walking and cycling, and then be selected in a global lottery.
"Running, swimming, walking and cycling all count for points," Luan said. "I train for about two hours each day."
Growing up in the mountainous areas of Ji'an, Jilin province, Luan developed a natural aptitude for physical activity. A National May 1 Labor Medal winner last year and a torch bearer for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, he said it is possible to set a good example in any trade.
He ranks top in deliveries among close peers, managing to deliver as many as 600 packages a day during "double eleven" online shopping peaks. One of his frequent customers was amazed by Luan's speed, because he can finish the delivery between ringing to summon the ground entrance guard to the receiver’s appearance at their door on the third floor.
Combining his work with training, Luan often delivers heavy items like water and rice to enhance his strength, avoiding elevators whenever possible. His daily routine includes climbing stairs and walking significantly more than the average person.
Luan's marathon journey began in 2017, when his company recommended him for the Beijing Marathon. He completed the race in just over four hours, earning the nickname "running king" from his colleagues.
With just over a month until the Paris Olympics, Luan continues to train rigorously, running 300 to 400 kilometers a month. For Luan, running and his delivery job have become indispensable and mutually fulfilling parts of his life. Approaching 40, a time when many athletes consider retirement, Luan feels he is on the brink of a new chapter.
In the summer of 2020, the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee announced the Mass Participation Marathon registration process, with a lottery ultimately selecting 40,048 runners from over 800,000 registrants worldwide.
The public marathon, to be run on the same course as the Olympic marathon, will take place on the night of Aug 10.
Smaller in numbers, but bigger in ambition — China's 3x3 basketball program is poised to steal the show in Paris, with both the men's and women's teams shooting for Olympic success.
With a decorated women's team eager to step higher on the podium, and an emerging men's side raring to make its presence felt, China is taking the half-court game's second Olympic tournament as a showcase of its overall improvement in the event, which has been gaining traction across the country as a serious sport, rather than just an outdoor urban pastime.
As the No 1 program on FIBA's Olympic qualification ranking list, the Chinese women's team refuses to rest on its laurels and is shooting for higher goals after having won a bronze medal at the game's Olympic debut in Tokyo three years ago.
"Our core players have grown more mature. We've come to know each other better and built a stronger chemistry together," said women's team captain Wang Lili during a recent open training session in Beijing.
"Our goal is obviously to win a brighter colored medal at the Paris Olympics as payback for our efforts in the build-up."
Led by coach Xu Jiamin on the sidelines and Wang on the court, the women's team has finished on the podium at three major tournaments in a row — winning a gold medal at the 2019 World Cup, a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, and another third-place finish at the 2022 World Cup.
The increasing commitment to the 3x3 game from basketball heavyweights, however, has significantly raised the bar going into the Paris Olympic cycle, with more professional players from established five-a-side programs in the United States, France and Australia shifting to the half-court game, making it a tougher battle for anyone to reign supreme at any international events.
The heavy toll taken by an arduous Olympic qualifying campaign last year is still being felt by Xu's team now, with veteran Wang, among other injured teammates, only returning to full-strength training recently after an eight-month layoff for a knee ligament rupture.
"Indeed, injuries cost us a lot, and will remain a challenge for us during the final preparation for Paris. Yet, we will stay focused, play with what we have got and try to take one step at a time to get ready for the Olympics," said Xu.
According to FIBA rules, the qualification quota places for both the men's and women's eight-team Olympic tournaments were decided by each FIBA member association's total of its top-25 players' individual world ranking points as of Nov 1 last year.
This prompted the Chinese Basketball Association to fly its players, representing dozens of clubs, across the globe to play in FIBA's World Tour events in a hectic hunt for points.
The Chinese men's team, bolstered by several players from the five-a-side CBA league, takes pride from its game-heavy road to Paris last year, and is braced for a dogfight when the eight-team, round-robin pool stage tips off on July 30 at the iconic Place de la Concorde.
"We are racing against time now, with some players just joining from their CBA season. We have to build every piece into one strong quartet in the next month," said men's team coach Wang Zhanyu.
"We are studying each of the other seven teams' styles and strengths, and will trial our different tactics in our three remaining warm-up events. Then, we will go all-out in Paris."
With more experience of the 3x3 game's higher demands in transition, physicality and endurance, Yan Peng, the only player on the current roster who played in Tokyo, is confident that the men's side will do better in Paris.
"We've been improving gradually in the three years since our first Olympics, and we will try to at least put up a braver fight than last time," said Yan, recalling that the squad finished bottom in Tokyo.
The Chinese men's and women's teams will both compete at the Chengdu Masters, a top-flight event on the FIBA World Tour, this coming weekend in the Sichuan provincial capital, before each playing two more legs on the tour to toughen up for Paris.
Editor's note: With the Olympic stage set, and golden glory beckoning, Chinese athletes have been going all-out to ensure it will be a medal-laden campaign at Paris 2024.
Despite challenges on and off the court, China's women's basketball team is embracing its uphill battle en route to Paris 2024, with the Asian powerhouse raring to prove its medal credentials at the Olympics.
As perhaps China's only legitimate medal contender in the collective big-ball sports at the Olympics, the Chinese women's squad is determined to build on its recent international success, and cement its status among the global elite in Paris by finishing on the Olympic podium for a third time.
Yet again, it has to carry the nation's hopes in the five-a-side game alone, after the Chinese men's squad failed to qualify for a second straight Olympics.
With the damage inflicted on the sport's domestic popularity by the underachieving men's team, the women's program — winner of a silver medal at the 1992 Games and a bronze at its Olympic debut in 1984 — is carrying the extra responsibility as it gears up for Paris, with the game in China in desperate need of a boost on the international stage.
"Our goal in Paris is to be strong and represent our country well, fight to win and maintain the tradition of playing team basketball. We will strive to play our best game and live up to the high expectations of the fans," head coach Zheng Wei said at the opening of the national team's Olympic camp last month.
Despite its winning momentum at recent major tournaments, a podium finish in Paris seems like a long shot for Team China — drawn in Group A with Serbia, Spain and Puerto Rico — given the pressing health issues involving several key players and the surging level of its opponents.
The magnitude of the challenge was underlined by Team China's 1-4 win-loss record during a warm-up series at home against Australia and Japan earlier this month, which exposed the lack of depth, finesse and intensity in its current roster in the face of the fast-paced, highly-physical modern women's game.
The early defeats came as expected, but were welcomed, though, as the team braces itself for a series of stern tests in order to peak at the right time.
Even with its star scorer Li Meng still nursing a leg injury, and starting center Han Xu just rejoining scrimmages in training, Team China already kicked off its next-stage preparations on Wednesday in Spain. With at least six more warm-ups to go against tough rivals, including Turkiye, Belgium and its Olympic group opponent Spain, it promises to be a hectic trip.
"We are not there yet. Now is only about making mistakes, identifying problems and trying to correct them as much as possible," Zheng said after Team China's two straight losses to Japan in Xi'an earlier this month.
"Some of our main players are still recovering from their respective injuries and conditioning issues, but we won't compromise on the intensity and quality in warm-ups.
"We only play against the best to be the best. We measure ourselves against world-class teams, try to adapt to the international game and improve ourselves before the ultimate test.
"This is what it's all about when preparing for the Olympics."
Size matters
Spearheaded by Han and Li, two former WNBA players, and current Los Angeles Sparks' center Li Yueru, Team China pulled off an inspiring runner-up finish at the 2022 FIBA Women's World Cup in Sydney, 28 years after the national team's silver-medal finish at the then world championships, also held in Australia, in 1994.
Team China kept the momentum flowing last year by winning a pair of golds — at the Asian Cup in July and Asian Games in October — to reclaim its continental supremacy from Japan, relying on a towering presence in the paint with Han and Li Yueru dictating plays on both ends of the floor.
Still, the fast-evolving women's game at the international level means no team should be taken lightly when the Olympic tournament tips off, Zheng insisted, citing a pair of double defeats to Australia and Japan, respectively, earlier this month.
Playing without its full roster against two experienced Olympic contenders, Team China was overpowered by Australia in the first two friendlies in Liaoning, snapped up a win in its third encounter against the Opals, before getting out-gunned by the sharp-shooting Japan in the final two fixtures, finishing the warm-up tour with a lot to reflect on.
"We played against two opponents with distinctively different styles, which was a great learning experience for us," said guard Yang Shuyu, who nailed all six of her 3-point attempts to contribute a game-high 23 points to Team China's 75-68 victory over Australia on June 2.
With the return of Han and Li Yueru expected to restore Team China's strength at the post, the team's lack of accuracy and consistency in shooting, underlined by its 76 missed free throws out of a total 122 attempts across five warm-ups, apparently needs more work to be able to keep up with the run-and-gun style of modern elite basketball.
"Our second unit was tested and pushed hard during the warm-up tour, which was quite helpful for us to get used to the higher level of international play, compared to the lower-intensity domestic league. Hopefully we can perform better in Europe with our key players back," said Zheng, a formidable member of the silver-winning squad at the 1994 worlds.
Team China will tip off its Group A campaign at the Paris Olympics on July 28 against last year's European championship runner-up Spain, followed by Serbia on July 31 before completing the group stage against Puerto Rico three days later.
The top two teams from each of the three groups, along with the two best third-placed finishers, will progress to the quarterfinals.
The men's Olympic soccer tournament will be a showcase for some of soccer's rising stars.
An age restriction set at under 23, plus three overage players, means the participating nations will call on some of their best young prospects, giving game time to those pushing for a way into their senior national teams.
It means there is unlikely to be any shortage of quality on show at the Paris Games.
As final rosters take shape, here are some of the players worth looking out for:
Claudio Echeverri, Argentina
An attacking midfielder, 18-year-old Echeverri has agreed to join Premier League giant Manchester City this summer. Nicknamed the "little devil," Echeverri impressed during the Under-17 World Cup, where he helped Argentina reach the semifinals with five goals and one assist over seven games.
Thiago Almada, Argentina
The 23-year-old Almada plays for Atlanta United in MLS, and he is already a World Cup winner after being part of Argentina's successful squad at Qatar 2022. A dynamic playmaker, he guided Argentina to a successful qualification for the Paris Games and was top scorer with five goals.
Rayan Cherki, France
The 20-year-old Cherki has already played more than 100 games for French club Lyon. When he was just 16, he scored two goals in a French Cup game. Still, the attacking midfielder has something to prove at the Olympics, as he's not always been coach Thierry Henry's first choice.
Kevin Paredes, United States
The 21-year-old left back and winger was the USA's Young Player of the Year in 2023 and became a part-time starter in his third season with Bundesliga side Wolfsburg. He has also broken into the senior national team, but is behind starter Antonee Robinson of Fulham and Joe Scally of Borussia Monchengladbach on the depth chart, so the Olympics provide Paredes with a great opportunity to continue developing.
Paxten Aaronson, United States
The 20-year-old brother of national team player Brenden Aaronson, Paxten made his debut for the Bundesliga's Eintracht Frankfurt in March 2023, but the midfielder made just one league start and was loaned this past January to Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem for the rest of the 2023-24 season. He became a regular starter with Vitesse, either in central midfield or on the wing and has made one international appearance, in a friendly against Colombia, in January 2023.
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Two athletes square off for an intense dance battle. The DJ starts spinning tunes, and the athletes begin twisting, twirling and seemingly defying gravity, respectfully watching on and taking turns to try and one-up each other.
The athletes converse through their movements, speaking through a dance that celebrates both athleticism and creativity. While the athletes probably aren't consciously thinking about the physics behind their movements, these complex and mesmerizing dances demonstrate a variety of different scientific principles.
Breaking, also known as break-dancing, originated in the late 1970s in the New York City borough of the Bronx. Debuting as an Olympic sport at the 2024 Summer Olympics, breaking will showcase its dynamism on a global stage. This urban dance style combines hip-hop culture, acrobatics and expressive footwork.
Since its inception, breaking has evolved into a competitive art form. An MC narrates the movements, while a DJ mixes music with a pulsating beat and heavy bass. The Olympics will feature two events: one for men, who are called B-boys, and one for women, called B-girls. In these events, athletes will compete in one-on-one dance battles.
Athletes earn points for creativity, personality, technique, variety, performance and musicality. Success in this sport requires combining dance moves from three basic categories: top rock, down rock and freeze.
Standing moves
Top rock moves are performed while standing up, focusing on fancy footwork and hand movements. These movements are reminiscent of hip-hop dancing.
Top rock moves rely on having lots of friction between an athlete's shoes and the floor.
This friction allows the athlete to take very quick steps and to stop abruptly. The dancers must intuitively understand inertia, or the fact that their bodies will continue in the direction they're moving unless they are acted upon by an external force. To stop abruptly, athletes need to engage their muscles, getting their shoes to grip the ground to stop themselves from continuing forward.
Floor moves
Down rock moves are performed while on the floor. Athletes may spin in circles with their head, back, elbows or shoulders touching the ground and their feet in the air. B-boys and B-girls rely heavily on an internal knowledge of physics to complete these moves.
Consider the physics of a backspin. A backspin occurs when the athletes are on their back with their feet lifted in the air, rotating around a specific area of their back.
Sitting on the floor, the athlete's left foot stays in contact with the ground while they spread their right leg wide, gathering linear momentum as they sweep their right leg toward their left foot in a wide arc. Then, they release their left leg from contact with the ground and roll onto their back.
Now that only their back is in contact with the ground, the linear momentum from their leg turns into angular momentum, which rotates the athlete around an axis that extends upward from their back's contact point with the ground. This move turns magical when they bring their legs and arms inward, toward the axis of rotation. This principal is called conservation of angular momentum.
When an athlete brings their mass in more closely to the axis of rotation, the athlete's rotations speed up. Extending their legs and arms once again, and moving their mass away from the axis of rotation, will cause the competitor to slow their rotation speed. Once they slow down, they can transition to another move.
Stopping in a pose
Freeze occurs when athletes come to a stop and pose, often occurring in time to the music and in an upside-down position. To freeze effectively, the athlete must have full control over their center of mass, placing it right above the point of their body that is in contact with the floor. The center of mass is the average position of all the parts of an athlete, weighted according to their mass. The "balance point", where the entire mass of the athlete seems to be concentrated, is the center of mass.
Athletes are most stable when their center of mass is as close to the ground as possible. You will see many competitors freeze with arms bent in an effort to lower their center of mass. This reduces their distance from the floor and minimizes the tendency of their body to rock to one side or the other due to torque.
Torque is a twisting force, like the force used to turn a wrench. The torque depends on two things: the amount of force you apply, and how far from the pivot point you apply the force. With an athlete's center of mass closer to the ground, the athlete decreases the distance between the pivot point — the ground — and where the force of gravity is applied — the athlete's center of mass.
Athletes need great strength to halt their motion mid-movement because they have to apply a force to resist the change in inertia.
Finding the right outfit
Many sports require a specific uniform. Breaking doesn't — an athlete can wear whatever they want — but the right outfit will maximize their chance of success.
The athlete wants a shirt that minimizes the friction between their body and the ground during a spin. Lettering or images on the back of the shirt will add friction, which hinders an athlete's ability to perform some down rock moves. An athlete may choose to wear long sleeves if they plan to slide on their elbows, as bare skin in contact with the floor also provides friction.
Athletes also have to think about the headgear they wear. While there are many different styles of hats made specifically for breaking, the athlete gets to choose whichever fits their dancing style best. They need to make sure that their hat provides some padding for their head while minimizing the friction between their head and the floor.
The back, elbow and head are axes of rotation during down rock moves, so the athlete wants gear that minimizes friction at all these places, but they also need to make sure their shoes have grip to maximize friction while they're doing top rock footwork. Athletes also want to make sure their hands aren't sweaty or slick, so they can use friction from their hands to control how fast they're rotating during down rock spins.
By the time the beat drops and the stage lights up in Paris, each competitor will have spent years experimenting with their own unique formula for success and composing their own perfect equation of motion, aesthetics and skill. Equally, they will all be hoping, like the alchemists of old, that they can turn "bass" materials into gold.
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Kennedy Blades initially struggled to fully appreciate her biggest moment on the mat. Her mind was already on Olympic gold.
Blades, just 20 years old, defeated six-time world champion and Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Adeline Gray at the US Olympic Wrestling Trials in April to qualify for the Paris Games in the 76-kilogram class.
Blades barely cracked a smile, already thinking ahead to possibly becoming the third American woman to win an Olympic wrestling gold medal.
"I felt there was something more that I wanted," she said. "And I think I've just manipulated my mind to going for gold, bringing home a gold medal from the Olympics. So that (beating Gray) was just the first step."
Women's wrestling made its Olympic debut in 2004, but the US didn't earn its first gold until Helen Maroulis won the 53kg division in 2016. Tamyra Mensah-Stock followed by winning the 68kg event at Tokyo 2020.
Blades, who dominates at nearly 6-feet (1.83-meter) tall in a sport that often favors stockier athletes, could be the next great star for a country where wrestling is the fastest-growing high school sport among girls.
Blades solidified herself as a Paris favorite with the win over Gray, and US women's coach Terry Steiner believes she has the ability and the confidence to win it all.
"We have a generational talent that we just don't see very often," Steiner said. "But, it's one thing having that talent and another thing being ready for the stage that she's on. She's just shown us the past few years that she's ready to be on that stage."
Blades has been a standout for years. In 2016, the Chicago native became the first Illinois girl to win an Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation championship against boys. She lost to Mensah-Stock in the finals of the Tokyo Olympic Trials in 2021 as a 17-year-old, then won a junior world championship later that year.
She said Mensah-Stock overpowered her at the trials, but it was a learning experience that helped set her course for Paris.
"It made me feel really good because I was right there," she said. "I did get some shots on her, so my technique and everything's right there, I think I just needed to mature a little bit. These last three years, I've been focusing on just maturing, wrestling smart, not letting the girls get in my head."
As Blades has matured, she has learned how to use her exceptional quickness and reach. Her size makes her difficult to prepare for. Blades said she can surprise opponents with holds in positions where her opponents normally think they're safe.
Blades, who is Afro-Latina, said she was happy when Mensah-Stock became the first black woman to win a wrestling gold medal. Blades said she is proud to represent several groups, including women and young people — but she wants to inspire all. She noted the importance of representation, while telling the story of a young girl who noticed they looked alike and had the same kind of hair. The girl said she wants to be just like Blades and looks forward to watching her in Paris.
"It gave me butterflies," Blades said.
Steiner said another young person, Amit Elor, has helped Blades reach this point. Elor, the US Olympic qualifier for 68kg, won world titles in 2022 and 2023. Like Blades, Elor is just 20 years old.
Blades said her younger sister, Korina, has also helped her prepare. Korina is 10 months younger and was an under-15 world champion in 2019 and a junior world bronze medalist in 2021. Injuries kept her out of the Olympic trials.
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MADRID — Three years after she fled Afghanistan so she could dedicate her life to the new Olympic sport of breaking, Manizha Talash is preparing to compete at the Paris Games as part of the Refugee Team.
For the 21-year-old "B-girl" the prospect is bittersweet.
"I would love to go and compete with the Afghan team alongside other girls, but we all know that's just impossible," Talash told reporters as she got ready to train in a public square in Madrid's Vallecas neighborhood.
"I'm very happy, because, a few months ago, it was just a dream, but now I'm living it. I can look at myself and say that 'I'm here, I've made it'."
Breaking, a competitive form of street dance that blends artistry and dance with acrobatic moves, will make its debut at the Paris Olympics in July.
Sixteen B-girls and 16 B-boys will compete in the discipline, which has its roots in the New York Bronx of the 1970s, bringing a new dimension to the Olympic movement.
"When I saw a video online of a man just spinning on his head, I immediately told myself: 'That's what I want to do with my life!' And, three months later, I found a gym in Kabul to start training," Talash recalled.
As the only girl among the 56 members of the Superiors Crew, a small but ardent breaking community in Kabul, Talash said it was not only her family members who disapproved of her new passion. She started receiving death threats as the word spread about Afghanistan's first B-girl.
Many conservative Afghans frown on dancing of any kind, and even more vehemently object to a woman's public participation — some of them violently so.
"We received three bomb threats to our club and, after the police came and arrested a man who was planning to attack us, they ordered us to close the club down, because they said it was a major threat not only to ourselves, but for the people in the neighborhood," Talash said.
Then, in August 2021, the Taliban took control of Kabul, outlawing music and dancing, which the group considers to be "un-Islamic".
Since then, most girls have been barred from high school and women from universities. The Taliban have also stopped most Afghan female staff from working at aid agencies, closed beauty salons, barred women from parks and curtailed travel for women in the absence of a male guardian.
"After the Taliban came, I didn't leave Afghanistan because of the fear of death. It was because breaking is my life. I'm here now because I have chosen to pursue my dream."
Talash said that she spent a year in Pakistan before being granted refugee status in Spain, alongside six other members of her crew who were spread around the country.
She kept training, but it wasn't until early 2024 that, thanks to the efforts of friends, the Refugee Olympic Team found Talash, brought her to Madrid and sponsored her six-days-a-week training program after she secured her spot at the Paris Olympics.
Around the same time, her mother, two brothers and sister were granted refugee status, and were able to join her in Madrid, giving Talash an extra shot of energy.
"I feel that, by doing what I'm doing, I'm doing something for the women in Afghanistan. For my girls there. I don't want to just talk, I want to go out there and do something. To walk the walk," she said.
REUTERS
Winning men's singles' titles at the Singapore Badminton Open and Indonesia Open ahead of the Paris Olympics, world No 1 badminton player Shi Yuqi showed great momentum to become one of Team China's best medal hopes in badminton at the upcoming Paris Games.
During an exclusive interview with China Daily online show Tracking Success, Shi said that he's ready to give his all to reach the highest podium in Paris, and he hopes that all Team China athletes will achieve their golden dreams in France.
To find more, click the video.
Even coach Bev Priestman acknowledges the Canadian national team lost its way last year.
Two years after winning Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games, the Canadians were humbled by a poor performance at last summer's Women's World Cup. Canada failed to advance out of the group stage for the first time since 2011.
"We had an unbelievable 2021 and arguably 2022, with some really good runs. And, for whatever reason, I think we know that we lost our way. And I lost my way, I would say, in terms of my values and principles and not being able to see the wood for the trees," said Priestman, who is now preparing her team for this year's Olympics, where Canada's campaign kicks off on July 25.
Canada was ranked by FIFA at No 6 in the world going into the World Cup, then fell to No 10 afterward.
Simmering in the background for the past two years has been the national team's ongoing — and sometimes contentious — labor dispute with Canada Soccer.
Without a contract since 2021, the team struck compensation deals for 2022 and the World Cup, but the issue has become so fraught that the women filed a $40 million lawsuit this year, accusing Canada Soccer board members of negligence and breach of fiduciary duty.
Complicating matter is that the women are seeking equal pay to the men's national team, much like the US women's team succeeded in securing through its collective bargaining agreement in 2022, and Canada's men don't have a labor agreement either.
Priestman, who admittedly had a difficult task keeping the team focused amid the outside noise, takes full responsibility for the team's on-field shortcomings last year.
"I think the biggest thing is, we played it safe, I played it safe," she said. "You could see that in 2023, when there was a lot of clutter, and maybe that was the safe thing to do, to make the environment feel that way during what was going on."
Captain Jessie Fleming said Priestman's assessment that the team lost its way was fair.
"I think when you look at our performances at the World Cup, they certainly weren't performances that we were happy with. It wasn't close to our best. I think we learned a lot from that summer," Fleming said. "I think it's difficult. Teams are always in transition, and we've had a lot of transition in recent years. But, since the World Cup, I feel we've had some really good performances as a team."
Canada has indeed rebounded since last September, with just one loss in regulation time. The team's other stumbles were to the United States: Canada registered draws with its rivals in both the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals and the She Believes Cup, before ultimately falling to defeat on penalties.
The team has also undergone some key changes in personnel. Christine Sinclair, the top international career scorer among both men and women, retired in December.
Sinclair, in addition to her record 190 goals, was the beloved captain of the team and the most recognized soccer player in Canada. She played in six World Cups and at four Olympics.
Veteran midfielder Sophie Schmidt also stepped away from the national team.
But, Canada has seen new players emerge. Fleming, the captain, is just 26. Jordyn Huitema and Julia Grosso — who struck the winning penalty in the gold-medal match in Tokyo — are just 23.
The deadline for naming an 18-player Olympic roster is July 3, although Priestman is aiming to name hers by the end of June. Then, the team will head to Europe and play a pair of friendly matches during the July FIFA window.
Canada has a tough group at the Olympics. The team kicks off against No 28 New Zealand on July 25, before facing No 3 France on July 28 and No 23 Colombia on July 31.
"The proud thing for me is, when you stood on the sideline, I think you see things in these players. There are values out there of respect and humility; there's a never-say-die attitude and the desire to be a good teammate, to work harder than any other team," Priestman said.
"These are all in the DNA of this squad."
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They suddenly began chanting in unison, calling for Leon Marchand to swim once more.
His events were done. Yet several of Marchand's Arizona State teammates begged for him to get back in the pool for a final race to settle it all: The Sun Devils and Pac-12 rival California were somehow tied at 150 points apiece with the competition complete and the diving scores tallied.
Nobody involved had ever seen such a sensational dual college meet — and it will be one Marchand long remembers, even now that he has won an NCAA team title and turned pro, shifting his attention from college classes and training in Tempe, Arizona, to the Paris Olympics at home in France.
"It's the year when I'm having the most fun, because there are many different goals and many different challenges," Marchand said. "That's what I love, so it's been fun."
Even if he didn't get to race again on that rainy January afternoon in Berkeley, Marchand, those spirited teammates had hoped, would dive back into the Cal pool and dominate in a final event against one of the best swimmers from the Golden Bears.
They all believed Marchand would surely tilt it Arizona State's way if he had been given a shot.
The two powerhouse programs, instead, had to settle for a tied finish, something Marchand and his decorated coach, Bob Bowman, had never seen before — and this is the longtime coach of Michael Phelps, so you'd figure he might have seen just about everything.
Arizona State would go on to defeat two-time defending national champion Cal for the program's first NCAA title just a couple of months later, with Marchand again leading the way.
Beaming and standing in the middle of all his teammates, he held the trophy above a smiling Bowman, the coach's hand in the air making the Sun Devils' pitchfork sign.
As a junior, Marchand won his third straight NCAA title in the 200-meter breaststroke, repeated as 400 individual medley (IM) champion, captured the 500 freestyle for the first time and led two relays to victory.
Each college meet provided valuable experience for the 22-year-old from the southern French city of Toulouse. The most decorated collegiate athlete of all time at Arizona State, he waits by the starting block before a race and meticulously adjusts his goggles, shakes out his arms and legs, rubs his hands together and releases a deep breath.
Technically sound in every stroke, Marchand was named the College Swimming Coaches Association of America Men's Swimmer of the Year for a third straight season, while Bowman earned Coach of the Year honors for the first time in his career, before leaving to take over the program at Texas.
The chance to swim in regular big meets under Bowman's guidance is a key reason Marchand ended up at ASU. He arrived in the desert shortly after the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics, eager to fine-tune his skills and times with results that could be studied and compared.
That's a benefit of the college swimming schedule, and Marchand made a point to focus his mind on each meet on the schedule without setting his sights too far ahead.
Like on Paris.
"We've been practicing a lot, so it should be good," he said.
Marchand announced he was turning pro shortly after the NCAA championships in Indianapolis, enabling him to continue working with Bowman in Austin.
"Leon has several things that make him a great. First is, he is very consistent in his training. Almost every day. If you had a scale of one to 10, he's kind of like an 8 every day. That's what I want. I don't want to see too many 10s, I don't want to see too many 2s," Bowman said.
"He's very good under water, better than anybody ever, by far. He has speed and he has endurance. So, he kind of has the whole package, and, so far, he's done well under pressure, which is the other piece of that equation. He has it all, really. He's just inexperienced, he just needs more experience."
Marchand is about to gain plenty of it on the biggest stage with family and friends — and an entire nation — watching.
The IM specialist is headed to his second Olympics and is poised to be one of the faces of the Paris Games.
Hardly the imposing physical specimen of, say, Phelps or 196-centimeter tall Australian star Ian Thorpe, the 77-kilogram Marchand placed sixth in the 400 IM at the Tokyo Games, and immediately realized how close he came to an Olympic medal.
This time around, Marchand is determined to leave his mark.
"When I came back from Tokyo, I was like, 'damn, this is a game-changer, pretty soon I can actually beat those guys'," he said. "'I know I can train better. I know I can improve this thing and that thing'."
And it was Marchand who reached out to Bowman about coming to Arizona State. Of course, the coach was all for it, having heard Marchand's name and the family pedigree of his two-time Olympic swimmer father, Xavier.
Bowman knew Marchand was committed to putting in the work. From the moment Marchand touched the wall for a world record in the 400 IM at the world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, last year to best Phelps' longtime mark, he began to ponder everything he could do better.
He clocked 4 minutes, 2.50 seconds, the first ever to finish under 4:03, and shaved 1.34 seconds off Phelps' 2008 record. Phelps was there to present the Frenchman with his medal — the Olympic great using his right hand to hold Marchand's fisted left hand high in triumph.
The first goal of the year has been accomplished: an NCAA title. Now, Marchand and Bowman have to refocus.
"Coach Bowman has been to the Olympics seven times already, so I think he knows how to handle that," Marchand said. "He's very calm and he knows how to manage it. I just trust him, trust the process and try to work harder and harder every day to get ready."
Bowman has observed Marchand's maturity from the day he arrived in Arizona. That included the normal college challenges, such as balancing school and training.
This is the same young man who, as a boy, nearly quit swimming when he thought the water was too cold.
"He's kind of taken the journey that most kids do in college, right?" said Bowman, who witnessed Phelps become the most decorated Olympian in any sport with 28 medals — 23 of them gold.
The coach was impressed with Marchand from day one.
"He was pretty independent when he arrived, but each successive year it's been fun to see him grow as a man and as an athlete. He's very serious about the swimming."
After that record-setting 400 IM in Japan last July, Marchand seemed to surprise even himself, calling it "insane! One of the most painful things I've done".
But, he did offer one more message in that moment for the swimming world sure to be keenly watching this summer:
"The best is yet to come."
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The 2024 international women's wheelchair basketball training camp, part of the events marking the 34th National Disability Day, took place in Beijing at the National Stadium on Sunday.
The training camp was the first of its kind to invite high-level teams from the Netherlands, the United States and the United Kingdom to Beijing for pre-Paralympic warm-up matches. With players of four China's provincial teams, a total of 142 players joined camp with Team United States and China finishing as winner and runner-up.
The training camp provided a platform for international and domestic high-level wheelchair basketball teams to exchange experiences, learn from each other and foster friendships in the gearing-up to the Paris Paralympic Games.
Prior to the camp, the participants toured the National Stadium, the venue for the wheelchair basketball events at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games and the ice hockey events at the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympic Games.
