A delegation of mainland Olympians, fresh from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, visited Macao in September for a memorable three-day tour. During their stay, the high-profile athletes spent time with local sports talent, learning about the city and sharing valuable insights. They encouraged Macao’s aspiring athletes to trust their teammates, embrace challenges and “give their all” in pursuit of their sporting dreams.
Led by Gao Zhidan, the director of the General Administration of Sports, the 65 Olympians and eight coaches represented 16 different events. Among the group were many gold medalists, including table tennis sensation Ma Long, star diver Quan Hongchan and freestyle swimmer Pan Zhanle.
“When you find something you’re passionate about, you will go all out and hope to make it the best,” Ma told an enthusiastic audience. “After playing for so many years, I still pursue the dream of table tennis, and I hope to continue winning glory for my country in the Olympic Games.”
A selection of Macao’s aspiring young athletes also had the opportunity to learn from their Olympic heroes, including members of the female artistic gymnastics team – which won gold in its category – and the first Chinese table tennis mixed doubles Olympic champions, Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng welcomed the delegation to the city with a grand banquet. During Ho’s speech at the event, he encouraged local youths and athletes to look up to the Olympians as role models. He urged them to learn from the athletes’ tenacity, hard work and patriotism, and to carry forward the spirit of sportsmanship. The delegation also visited several iconic landmarks during its time in Macao, including the Rua da Felicidade pedestrian zone and the Monte Fort.
An ‘unforgettable’ visit
Before leaving Macao, members of the cohort reflected on their visit. Li Yuehong, who won gold in the men’s 25-metre rapid fire pistol event, said he had “felt the enthusiasm of the general public for sports.” Li added he hoped the advice he’d imparted to Macao’s young people here would inspire them to carry forward Chinese sportsmanship.
Xu Shixiao, gold medalist in the women’s double 500-metre canoeing sprint, described the “wonderful and unforgettable” visit – her second to Macao – as a special opportunity to interact with local residents. She also expressed her sincere gratitude to the local government for organising the trip.
Women’s BMX freestyle champion Deng Yawen offered encouragement to the determined young athletes of the Special Administrative Region (SAR), urging them to persevere with their dreams and not be discouraged by setbacks arising along the way. “Hard work does not always yield results, but not working hard certainly does not,” she said. “As long as one is willing to work hard, the results will manifest themselves in different places.”
Table tennis star Fan Zhendong, who won gold in both the men’s singles and men’s teams events, said he found the opportunity to spend time with his fellow medalists in a relaxed setting outside of their intense training sessions to be “valuable”.
Making history at the Paris Olympics
The 2024 Paris Olympics saw the mainland team achieve impressive results. Its 40 gold medals were a record for China at an overseas Olympics, surpassing the 39 bagged in London in 2012. The team also scored 27 silver and 24 bronze medals, meaning China scooped the second-highest overall medal count at this year’s Games: 91.
China’s best-ever haul came on its home turf in 2008, when the mainland earned 100 medals including 48 golds. This year it trailed only the United States, which won 126 medals in total, 40 of them gold. Japan came third in the rankings, with a total of 45 (20 of them gold).
In terms of individual sports, China bagged most of its golds in diving events – a whopping eight. Shooting, table tennis and weightlifting events each saw mainland athletes nab five golds. It was Li Wenwen’s gold in the women’s +81 kilogram weightlifting division that pushed China’s gold medal count over its previous record, while tennis star Zheng Qinwen made history as the first Asian gold medalist in the Olympic women’s singles category. In terms of overall medals, China did best in swimming with a total of 12 gongs: two golds, three silvers and seven bronzes.
Hong Kong’s team, meanwhile, won a grand total of four medals: two golds in fencing and two bronzes in swimming. Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei, bagged seven medals: a gold each in badminton and boxing, and bronzes in artistic gymnastics, shooting, weightlifting and boxing. Macao didn’t send any athletes to this year’s Olympics as the SAR is not a member of the International Olympic Committee.
After the Games ended, the Central Government issued a statement praising the Chinese team for its performance. “You have vigorously promoted the Chinese sports spirit and the Olympic spirit, striving to win medals not only for your athletic performance but also for your moral integrity, sportsmanship and clean competition,” it read.
During the Olympians’ visit to Macao, then-acting Sports Bureau President Luís Gomes expressed his hope that residents of the SAR would draw inspiration from the athletes’ remarkable achievements. He emphasised that these Olympians are not only models of perseverance and the courage to overcome challenges in pursuit of the highest goals but also symbols of patriotism. Their dedication to their sport and their country, Gomes noted, makes them powerful role models for the next generation, embodying both athletic excellence and national pride.
