SINGAPORE – The Tokyo Olympics may be devoid of the usual buzz of excitement and roar of an electric crowd, but that has not stopped the athletes on show from pushing the limit and breaking down the barriers.
The Straits Times picks out a few who have made historic breakthroughs for their nations in the Japanese capital.
1) Hidilyn Diaz, Philippines (weightlifting)
The 30-year-old Rio 2016 silver medallist from the southern city of Zamboanga realised her dream on Monday (July 26) in the women’s 55kg class at the Tokyo International Forum, ending the Philippines 97-year wait for an Olympic gold.
“History. Made,” the Olympics said on its Twitter account after her event. Filipino athletes had won 10 medals of varying colours since the Philippines first competed at the Summer Games in 1924, but the 11th was the sweetest.
2) Flora Duffy, Bermuda (triathlon)
Despite stormy conditions on Tuesday (July 27) morning, Duffy kept her cool to win the women’s triathlon, delivering a dominating run leg to cross the finish line first and claim her country’s first Olympic title.
Bermuda is the smallest nation or territory in terms of population – around 70,000 – ever to win a gold medal at a Summer Games.
Their only previous Olympic medallist was boxer Clarence Hill, who claimed a bronze at Montreal 1976.
3) Panipak Wongpattanakit, Thailand (taekwondo)
A last-gasp kick to defeat Spanish teenager Adriana Cerezo Iglesias in the women’s 49kg final on Saturday (July 24) sealed Thailand’s first gold in the sport.
The 23-year-old Panipak’s win was the 10th gold for the Thais in their Olympic history. Those titles have come from weightlifting (five) and boxing (four).
4) Polina Guryeva, Turkmenistan (weightlifting)
The Central Asian country has returned empty-handed since it first competed at the Games in 1996. That all changed on Tuesday (July 27) when Guryeva, 21, lifted a combined 217kg in the snatch and clean & jerk segments to finish second in the women’s 59kg event, securing herself a place in her country’s history books.
5) Cheung Ka Long, Hong Kong (fencing)
He ended Hong Kong’s 25-year wait for a second Olympic gold on Monday (July 26) in dramatic fashion, fighting back from 4-1 down in the men’s foil final to beat defending champion Daniele Garozzo of Italy.
Windsurfer Lee Lai Shan’s victory in the women’s mistral class at the 1996 Atlanta Games was Hong Kong’s first Olympic title. It has been a fruitful campaign in Tokyo for Hong Kong, with swimmer Siobhan Haughey adding two silvers in the women’s 100m and 200m freestyle events.
6) Alessandra Perilli, San Marino (shooting)
One of only five Sammarinese athletes in Tokyo, she finished third in the women’s trap event on Thursday (July 29), giving her country of only 33,000 people their first medal. The tiny landlocked European nation is the smallest to claim a medal at the Olympics.
“We are a small country but very proud,” Perilli, 33, said after the medal ceremony. “They are for sure going crazy, crying. I don’t know, but for sure now they are.”
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