Several hours before the 2016 Rio Games officially began in the evening of August 5, Korean archer Kim Woo-jin had already broken the Games’ first world record. The 24-year old Kim produced 700 points from 72 arrows in men’s individual ranking round at the Olympic Archery Center Sambodromo and broke the earlier record held by another Korean. On day one of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games; Adam Peaty of Great Britain and Katinka Hosszu of Hungary broke two swimming world records. On the second day of the Games, two more world records in swimming were broken in addition to another in weightlifting. Thus the athletes have shattered six world records in merely two days of competition at Rio. Besides these world records, first two days at Rio have also seen eleven new Olympic records bettered in different disciplines. That is certainly a great beginning for the 31st edition of the Summer Olympics. 19 gold medals have already been distributed with USA, China and Australia leading the medal tally with 3 gold medals each followed by Italy, Korea and Hungary with 2 gold medals apiece. In the overall tally, USA leads with 12 medals to China’s 8. Indian women’s archery team lost narrowly to the Russian team in the quarterfinal and missed out on a chance to enter the medal round.
Swimming competitions on the first two days of Rio Games contributed to four world records out of a total of six that have so far been broken. In men’s 100m breaststroke, Adam Peaty of Great Britain broke his own world record that he set last year in British Championships by finishing in 57.55. Peaty’s time also surpassed the Olympic record and the British record. On the same day, Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu also broke the World, Olympic and Hungarian records in women’s 400m Individual Medley by clocking 4:26.36. Hosszu thus eclipsed the previous world record set by China’s Ye Shiwen during the 2012 London Olympic Games. On the second day, of the two world marks that were eclipsed in swimming; one came in women’s 400m freestyle, where USA’s Kathleen Ledecky broke her own record, she had set at the Pan Pacific Championships by clocking 3:56.46. The fourth world record in swimming was set in women’s 100m butterfly by Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom. The Swede clocked 55.48 and improved on her own world record created at the World Championships. In addition to the four new world marks, swimming also saw another victory for USA’s Michael Phelps, who won his 19th gold in swimming, when team USA won the 4×100 freestyle relay. The 31-year old Phelps thus added to his already reigning status of world’s most decorated Olympian.
The sixth world mark that was bettered on second day came from weightlifting. Long Qingquan of China broke a 16-year-old world record in men’s 56-kg category. Long lifted a combined total of 307 kg to achieve the feat. The last record in this category had been standing in the name of Halil Mutlu of Turkey, when he lifted 305 kg in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Archery was the first sport at Rio that accounted for a world record in the morning of August 5. Kim Woo-Jin scored 700 with 72 arrows in men’s individual ranking round at Sambodromo several hours before the official opening ceremony on August 5. The effort of the Korean obliterated the earlier record of 699 set by his compatriot Im Dong-hyun at the 2012 London Games.
