YearsofdedicationandeffortshavepaidoffforChinaasithasmadesurprisesandreapedsuccessesintheAthensOlympicGames,aleadingofficialoftheUnitedStatesOlympicCommittee(USOC)said.
Chinahasrankedinanunprecedentedsecondplaceonthemedaltablewith32golds,17silversand14bronzesatthefortnightAthensGames.
"Themedaltotal,especiallythegoldcount,fortheseOlympicsshowsanincreasefromSydney2000andatrendthatwouldindicateastrongshowingfor2008inBeijing."
SprinterLiuXiangequaledtheworldrecordtowinthemen’s110-meterhurdlesFridayevening,whichistheonlygoldmedalfortheChinesemenathletesinthetrackandfieldintheOlympichistory.
Lessthanonehourlater,XingHuinawonthewomen’s10,000mby30minutesand24.36seconds.
LiTingandSunTiantianwonforChinathefirstevertennismedalwiththegoldinthewomen’sdoubles,whileMengGuanliangandYangWenjunre-wrotethehistorywiththeirvictoryinthemen’sC2500mcanoe
