China dominates Paris Olympics, ties with US for gold

IMAGE: China's Qinwen Zheng elebrates after winning gold against Donna Vekic of Croatia. China delivered their best performance at a Summer Olympics since the 2008 Games on home soil, winning the joint most gold medals with the United States and only missing out on topping the standings on silver medal count. The 40 golds was an all time high for Games outside China and was achieved despite immense pressure and tightened scrutiny resulting from a doping row involving some of its swimmers. IMAGE: China's Gold medallist Zhanle Pan celebrates after winning the race and setting a new world record. China's Foreign Ministry accused the United States of using the case, which doping authorities concluded was caused by contamination, to undermine the Chinese swimmers in Paris. Pan, who spoke candidly about being cold shouldered by other swimmers, also led China to end U.S. dominance in the men's 4x100 medley relay. Away from the pool, China also claimed medals in some of the more recent additions to the Olympic programme, including a gold in women's BMX freestyle, two silvers in sport climbing and a bronze in the women's breaking in a total team tally of 91 medals.