On the fifth day of the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Chinese swimming team finally secured their first gold medal of the Games after winning two silver and two bronze medals. The first world record in swimming at these Games was set at the La Défense Arena in Paris. 

In the Men's 100m Freestyle Final , held in the early hours of August 1st (Beijing time), Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle won gold with a time of 46.40 seconds, breaking his previous world record of 46.80 seconds. Australian's Kyle Chalmers took silver with a time of 47.48 seconds, followed by Romania's David Popovici in the bronze-medal position with a time of 47.49 seconds. Winning an Olympic final by more than a second and smashing the world record in a pool not known for fast times speaks volumes about the significance of Pan's victory.

Following Pan's record-breaking win, the website of World Aquatics praised his performance, noting that the men's 100m freestyle record is one of the hardest to break. Since 1988, the world record has only improved by 1.62 seconds. For those who have been following Pan Zhanle, the new world record was not unexpected, although it came sooner than anticipated.  

The Men's 100m Freestyle has been a staple Olympic event since the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, where Hungary's Alfred Hajos won gold with a time of 1'22''02. Historically, this event has been dominated by swimmers from Europe and the Americas, with only brief appearances by Asian athletes.

In 2015, at the 16th FIAN World Championships in Kazan , Chinese swimmer Ning Zetao became the first Asian to reach the final of the Men's 100m Freestyle, winning gold with a time of 47.84 seconds. Before Ning's victory, no Asian swimmer had ever reached the top eight in the 100m freestyle at the Olympics or World Championships, let alone won a medal.

After Ning Zetao's retirement, Chinese swimmers struggled to make significant strides in the Men's 100m Freestyle until Pan Zhanle swam a time of 47.65 seconds at the 2022 World Athletics Championships , equaling Ning's national record and came within 0.09 seconds of the Asian record. Pan soon broke the record and continued to improve, culminating in his Olympic triumph.

Pan's meteoric rise has sent shockwaves through the swimming world. His time of 46.40 seconds left everyone astonished, akin to Usain Bolt 's 9.58-second 100m dash on the track. In this race to be the fastest swimmer on Earth, Pan's 1.08-second lead over the runner-up was extraordinary.

On this night, Pan achieved not only a Chinese miracle but also a global one. He became the first Chinese male swimmer to win an Olympic gold in the 100m Freestyle and the first Asian to do so in Olympic history.

Source :Yangcheng Evening News

百年首人！中国飞鱼潘展乐是怎么横空出世的？

2024巴黎奥运会的第五个比赛日，中国游泳队在拿到了两枚银牌和两枚铜牌之后，终于迎来了本届奥运会的首枚金牌。巴黎拉德芳斯体育馆诞生本届奥运会游泳比赛开赛以来的首项世界纪录。

在北京时间8月1日凌晨进行的2024巴黎奥运会男子100米自由泳决赛中，中国游泳运动员潘展乐以46.40秒的成绩夺冠并打破自己保持的46.80秒的原世界纪录。澳大利亚运动员查尔莫斯以47.48秒获得亚军，罗马尼亚运动员波波维奇以47.49秒获得第三名。在奥运会的决赛中领先第二名一秒以上，在这个不利于出好成绩的泳池中超大幅度打破世界纪录，潘展乐的这块金牌含金量已无需多言。

在潘展乐打破世界纪录并夺冠后，世界泳联官网的撰文盛赞潘展乐的表现：“要知道，男子100米自由泳纪录是最难破的世界纪录，从1988年至今，世界纪录仅仅提升了1秒62。对于一直关注潘展乐的人而言，新世界纪录并非意料之外，只是比预想的来得更早了些。”

早在1896年第一届现代奥运会举办时，男子百米自由泳就是奥运会的金牌项目之一。当时来自匈牙利的豪约什·奥尔弗雷德以1分22秒02的成绩，夺得了现代奥运会历史上第一枚男子百米自由泳的金牌。此后奥运会上的男子100米自由泳舞台基本上长期被欧美国家的选手所统治，只有短短的一段时间，偶尔出现过亚洲人的身影。

直到2015年喀山游泳世锦赛，中国游泳名将宁泽涛进入该项目决赛并以47.84秒的成绩夺冠，在那之前，亚洲选手从未有过在奥运会或者世锦赛上进入男子100米自由泳前8名的先例，更别提奥运会或世锦赛夺牌了。

随着宁泽涛的淡出，中国运动员在男子100米自由泳这一项目上鲜有突破，直到2022年世锦赛，潘展乐游出47秒65，追平了由宁泽涛保持的全国纪录，距离亚洲纪录仅0.09秒之差。很快潘展乐便打破纪录，并不断刷新纪录，直至今天登上奥运最高领奖台。

潘展乐的横空出世，无疑引发了泳坛的地震。46秒40——这个成绩让所有人瞠目结舌，就像当年博尔特在陆地上跑出百米9秒58。在这场地球上游得最快的人的速度大比拼中，领先了第二名1.08秒，潘展乐的表现绝对是惊世骇俗的。

这一晚，潘展乐不仅创造了中国奇迹，更创造了世界奇迹。这是中国游泳历史上第一个男子短距离自由泳奥运冠军，同时也是历史上第一位在奥运会男子百米自由泳决赛中夺冠的亚洲选手。

文 | 记者 龙希 实习生 李力行
图 | 新华社
译 | 赵凡
英文审校 | 王枥焓