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A pair of teenagers claimed the first gold medal awarded at the Paris Olympics.
Huang Yuting, 17, and Sheng Lihao, 19, upheld the Chinese shooting team’s history of success, defeating Korea’s Hajun Park and Jihyeon Keum 16-12 in Saturday morning’s 10-meter air rifle mixed team gold medal match.
The Korean team rallied from a 14-8 deficit and had a chance to level the match in the 14th round. Yuting and Lihao instead responded with their highest score of the match in the final round to earn both available points and close out the victory.
It was no surprise to see the Chinese duo take gold at the Chateauroux Shooting Center. Yuting and Lihao have partnered together throughout this Olympic cycle and cruised to a 16-2 victory in the gold medal match at last year’s world championships.
Kazakhstan’s Alexandra Le and Islam Satpayev secured the last spot on the podium Saturday, pulling away from Germany’s top team to earn a 17-5 victory in the bronze medal match. The victory earned Kazakhstan its first shooting medal at an Olympics in 28 years.
Three years ago in Tokyo, Americans Mary Carolynn Tucker and Lucas Kozeniesky earned a silver medal in the 10-meter air rifle mixed event, but this time the U.S. did not come close to duplicating that result. Tucker and new partner Rylan William Kissell placed 13th in qualifying on Saturday morning, while Ivan Roe and Sagen Maddalena settled for 18th.
Twelve more gold medals will be awarded on Saturday in the first full day of competition at the Paris Olympics. The most anticipated is the women’s 400-meter freestyle final, which will pit American Katie Ledecky against rivals Summer McIntosh of Canada and Ariarne Titmus of Australia.