Martinenghi races from the shadows at the Paris Olympics to beat Peaty and Qin in the 100m breaststroke

STEPHEN WADE, Associated Press

11 minutes ago

Nicolo Martinenghi of Italy celebrates his victory in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke final during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Nanterre, France. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

NANTERRE, France (AP) — Nicolo Martinenghi won gold in the 100-meter breaststroke at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, thrilling Italian fans and canceling several major storylines ahead of the race.

Martinenghi won bronze in this event at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo and won earlier this year at the World Championships in Doha.

But he was not the expected winner.

That would be Britain’s Adam Peaty, the two-time reigning Olympic champion in this event in lane 4. Another potential gold medal winner would be China’s Qin Haiyang in lane 5, who won the 50, 100 and 200 metres breaststroke at last year’s world championships.

Qin holds the world record for the 200 metres, while Peaty holds the 100 metres.

Martinenghi won from lane 7 in 59.03 seconds, just ahead of Peaty and American Nic Fink, who tied for silver with 59.05 seconds. Qin finished seventh in 59.50.

“I was on my favorite track, in seven,” Martinenghi said. “Nobody saw me. I was in the shadow. I love racing like that and that was my favorite track. I have a chain with number 7 on it. When I was younger, I trained on that track.”

Peaty took a year off from competitive swimming after winning in Tokyo, focusing on his mental health and what he called his “personal demons.”

His yield was good enough, even if it was not gold.

“I’m not sad at all,” Peaty said. “I think anyone who plays sports — you put yourself on the line every time, so there’s no such thing as losing.”

Qin is one of 11 Chinese swimmers in Paris who tested positive for banned heart medication before the Tokyo Games but were not punished.

Peaty has been vocal about doping and called on Saturday for a “fair game” ahead of Sunday’s final. Qin had also responded, suggesting unsubstantiated claims against China and complaining about the increased testing of Chinese swimmers.

“I’m so glad the right man won,” said Peaty,

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games