Great leaps forward

'All the impossibles'

Much to the surprise of fans back home, Chinese athletes made huge strides in Western-dominated sports, such as track and field, swimming, and rowing.

Sprinter Su Bingtian dashed into history by clocking an Asian-record 9.83 seconds to become the first Chinese to reach an Olympic men's 100m final.

Two-time world champion Gong Lijiao claimed the country's first women's Olympic shot put title in her fourth Games, before Liu Shiying followed suit with a similar feat in the women's javelin.