Zhang vows to return after Olympic bronze

Although kicking off her Paris 2024 campaign without a golden start, China's butterfly swimmer Zhang Yufei vowed to come back stronger to push the world's best to their limits, perhaps at the next Games in 2028.

As the reigning Olympic champion in women's 200m butterfly, Zhang entered Sunday's final of the 100m sprint overshadowed by the surging form of this season's top-two swimmers - Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske of the United States - and eventually settled for a bronze medal in her first final session in Paris.

Huske touched in first with a time of 55.59 seconds, beating compatriot Walsh, the current world record holder, to silver by a 0.04-second margin. Zhang held tight to the two US swimmers in the first 50m split, yet slowed down during the final stretch to eventually finish in 56.21, securing a bronze medal at the Paris La Defense Arena.

Zhang, a two-time world champion, will now regroup and refocus on defending her 200m butterfly title when the preliminary heats start on Wednesday.

"The result was kind of slow but I am still quite happy to win a bronze medal in this event at my third Olympic Games," said Zhang, a 26-year-old native of Jiangsu province.

"I had some pretty good results in training and I am particularly satisfied with my first 50m today. But a loss is a loss, and sometimes it doesn't always work even if you prepared so well.

"Everyone worked so hard and wanted it (the gold medal) so much. Yet there is only one winner in a race at the Olympics.

"I just wish I could have another chance after I readjust myself and improve my level to compete against these two great rivals again to my best ability," said Zhang, who will also compete in the women's 50m freestyle on Saturday in Paris.

As composed and positive as Zhang appeared after the race, the Chinese star briefly got emotional, weeping tears while waving to clapping fans in the stands, showing a glimpse of the huge pressure on her shoulders in the build-up to the Paris Games.

Prior to the Olympics, some Western media organizations published sensationalized reports on a proven food contamination incident in early 2021 that involved 23 Chinese swimmers, including Zhang.

Groundless allegations in the case have severely disrupted Chinese athletes' final preparations for the Paris Games. The World Anti-Doping Agency's investigation and review had already concluded this was a contamination incident.

Zhang also expressed her concerns in an earlier interview after the 100m butterfly preliminaries that the irresponsible accusations could have soured her relationship with some of her foreign competitors, potentially turning healthy competition into hostility.

This partly explained why she smiled brightly, apparently with a sense of relief, after both Huske and Walsh invited Zhang to share the top podium and take group photos together.

"It was kind of heart-warming that they did embrace me on the podium," said a smiling Zhang at the post-final news conference.

"I hope I could enjoy competing at the Games more after today's medal finish, rather than focusing too much on the results and carrying a lot of pressure.

"Hopefully, I could have a chance to participate in the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028," said Zhang.