Sport as a metaphor for international politics. While France is puffing out its chest with its historic total of 64 medals, including 16 gold in these Paris Games, the real big guns are playing a few levels above. As in seven of the eight previous editions, the United States finished at the top of the medal rankings. But this time they had a very, very close call, as the Chinese breath is getting stronger and stronger on their necks. And the French basketball team, very close to achieving an unspeakable feat against Team USA (66-67), almost caused a geopolitical earthquake.
This Sunday morning, the Beijing athletes were still at the top of the ranking, with 39 golds against 38 for those from Washington. Three years ago in Tokyo, China was already leading (38-36) before the final day, but had conceded a stinging 3-0 in the final sprint, after the triumphs in the money-time of the Americans in volleyball and basketball, but also of track athlete Jennifer Valente in the omnium.
The blow came even closer in Paris. The coronation of weightlifter Wenwen Li (81 kg women), which went unnoticed in the rest of the world, widened the gap to +2 for China at midday. There were then three US chances to grab at least two titles. In the event of a golden tie, it is in fact the total number of medals that separates the countries, and in this game, the Americans are unbeatable (127 against 91 on the Chinese side in the end).
US volleyball players derail
But a big cold shower from Seattle to Tampa: the volleyball players, crowned in Tokyo, were devoured by the Italians (0-3). The same Jennifer Valente and the basketball players then had to win to avoid the very symbolic affront of a Chinese final victory.
After Valente’s new success (also crowned in the team pursuit, Uncle Sam thanks you, Jenny), the nation’s honour therefore depended on Diana Taurasi and her teammates, who faced the French, as in Tokyo. Gabby Williams almost inflicted a fatal blow on her homeland, but after a huge scare, the US basketball players extended their unbeaten streak to 61 games.
Their last Olympic defeat dates back to the semi-finals of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. In Catalonia, it was the Confederation of Independent States (CIS), born from the ashes of the Soviet Union, which finished at the top of the medals table, ahead of the United States, dominated four years earlier in Seoul by the USSR but also by the GDR.
The breakup of the Eastern Bloc has thrown open the doors of sporting happiness to Team USA, untouchable since the “Coca-Cola” Games in Atlanta 1996, with the exception of Beijing 2008, where the host country had beaten the Americans, confirming its rise in power, in all sectors, since the beginning of the 21st century. Russia was absent in Paris, but it is no longer able to get involved in this duel at very high altitude.
Mutual accusations of doping
See you in Los Angeles in 2028, for a Californian edition that already promises to be quite spicy. It is hard to imagine the political tensions between the two superpowers calming down in four years. These squabbles unsurprisingly rub off on sport, with mutual accusations of doping, rekindled by the Olympic title, world record to be won, by the UFO Pan Zhanle in the 100m freestyle.
Following the revelations in April of the New York Times and the German channel ARD, the United States opened a federal investigation in early July targeting 23 Chinese swimmers. They had tested positive in 2021 for trimetazidine, a banned substance, but were not sanctioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Eleven of them have been selected for the Paris Games.
A Chinese narrative to “feed”
Chinese state media recently responded massively. As reported by France 24the pro-Beijing English-language newspaper Global Times thus let loose in an editorial published Friday: “the world has the right to know if cheating is systematic in sport in the United States.” An allusion to the revelations by Reuters on the use of doped athletes by Washington to bring down networks of trafficking of illicit products, in exchange for reduced sentences, or even amnesties. The WADA had not been kept informed of the positive cases of these “informers”.
All about the Paris 2024 Olympics
“China is facing headwinds right now, especially economically, and the government needs good news,” Marc Lanteigne, a China expert at the Arctic University of Norway, told France 24. “Winning so many medals allows them to feed the narrative that they are a great power.” And conversely, seeing the Chinese outdo them at the Olympics would fuel the specter of decline on the other side of the Pacific. By unashamedly beating the “Frenchies,” the American basketball players have allowed their country to gain at least four years of respite.