Record-breaking Australia — inspired by Mack Horton and Cate Campbell — put their stamp on the Rio Olympics and moved top of the medals table after an intense first day of action.
Bomb and bullet scares and a horrific double leg break were among the shocks on Saturday, while fans fumed over long queues for venues at Rio’s Olympic Park.
But a trio of swimming world records and a first ever Olympic gold for Vietnam kept the focus on the sporting action as 12 titles were handed out.
There was joy for teenage American shooter Ginny Thrasher, who upset China’s champions to snare the first gold of the Games in the women’s 10m air pistol.
Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet won a crash-filled men’s cycling road race, and rugby returned to the Games after a gap of 92 years.
Britain’s Adam Peaty was the early star in the swimming pool. He set an eye-popping new world record of 57.55sec in the men’s 100m breaststroke heats — his first ever Olympic swim.
Later Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu shattered the world record by more than two seconds to win the women’s 4x100m individual medley.
But Australia dominated the first night in the pool, first when Horton dethroned China’s Sun Yang to win the men’s 400m freestyle.
Individual world record-holder Campbell then anchored Australia to 4x100m freestyle gold in 3min 30.65sec, the fastest time in history.
AFP
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