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Mike Chan

The United States and China have finished in the top two spots in the medal table in four of the past five Olympics, but it was only in Beijing in 2008 where the hosts came out ahead.
While that trend is expected to continue in Paris, China are projected to win as many as 34 golds, which could see them challenge the US’ position of dominance.
The Nielsen’s Gracenote forecast, updated on Monday, has the US winning 39 golds. Should the predictions be accurate, the Americans would match their tally in Tokyo three years ago, and China would win four fewer golds than last time.
While each has its own areas of dominance, the pool and the gymnastics arena could be where the battle between the superpowers is won.
Athletics and swimming have long been the biggest gold medal winners for the Americans, who are sending a massive, 592-strong squad to France, compared to the 405 travelling from China. The last time the two sports did not occupy the US’ top two medal slots at the Summer Olympics, was 64 years ago in Rome.

While China are not expected to challenge the US on the track and it appears unlikely the Americans will pose any threat to their rivals on the field, some intense battles are expected in the pool at the Paris La Defense Arena.
China’s Qin Haiyang will be one of the favourites for the men’s 100 metre and 200m breaststroke titles and is the Asia record holder. The 25-year-old from Hunan, however, will not be able to reproduce the hat-trick of 50m, 100m and 200m titles he achieved at the World Championships in Fukuoka last year, because only the latter two are events at the Olympics.
Matt Fallon, whose best time in the 200m breaststroke was two minutes and 6.54 seconds, could challenge for a spot on the podium, but a huge effort would be required for the US record holder to topple Qin.
In the 100m event, Qin, whose career-best time was 57.69 seconds, will need to discover some extra speed if he is to deny world record-holder and Great Britain star swimmer Adam Peaty a three-peat at the Games.
Zhang Yufei, who won 200m butterfly gold and 100m butterfly silver in Tokyo three years ago, will face some stern tests as the Jiangsu girl looks to go one better in France.

The 26-year-old will have to battle new world-record holder Gretchen Walsh and fellow American Torri Huske in the 100m event, while Regan Smith could also challenge Zhang in the 200m event.
In women’s 100m breaststroke, China’s Tang Qianting, who clocked a new Asian record at 1:04.39 at the China Championships in April, could challenge for the top spot but world-record holder Lilly King is just one of the speedsters she will have to outswim.
Outside of the pool, the US and China are also expected to lock horns in the gymnastics arena, to a certain extent, and in the shooting venue.
In women’s gymnastics, asymmetric bars remained the stronghold for the Chinese as they won the last three World Championships gold medals. Qiu Qiyuan, who won gold last year, will lead a team of five, but Simone Biles’ United States remain firm favourites for the women’s team gold.
In shooting, US’ Will Shaner, who won gold in men’s 10m air rifle in Tokyo, is not competing in France with Ivan Roe in his place. It will be interesting to see if Sheng Lihao, who took silver behind Shaner, can upgrade his medal in Paris.

In the mixed 10m air rifle team event, China are looking to defend their gold won by Yang Haoran and Yang Qian in Japan. Huang Yuting, Sheng Lihai, as well as Han Jiayu and Du Linshu, are entrusted with the mission for China after they triumphed at the Asian Games and the Asian Championships.
US’ Lucas Kozeniesky and Mary Tucker won silver in Tokyo, but neither is on the team this summer, with Sagen Maddalena and Roe donning the Stars and Stripes in Paris.
While China’s dominance in diving, table tennis, weightlifting and badminton is not expected to be under threat from the Americans, the two countries are likely to go head-to-head again in the women’s 3x3 basketball.
China are the world’s top team but the United States, ranked No 2 in the world, won the gold medal in Tokyo.
United States defeated China in the pool stage 21-19 three years ago at the Aomi Urban Sports Park but the Chinese also advanced to the knockout stage before taking home the bronze medal with a win over France.


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The superpowers have finished in the top two spots in the medal table in four of the past five Olympics


The superpowers have finished in the top two spots in the medal table in four of the past five Olympics, but it was only in Beijing in 2008 where the hosts came out ahead.


US-China battle for Olympic gold medal dominance: pools are key battlegrounds in Paris

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}The superpowers have finished in the top two spots in the medal table in four of the past five Olympics

The superpowers have finished in the top two spots in the medal table in four of the past five Olympics