;Sun Yang propped himself up on the lane rope, posed for the cameras and let out a big roar as he pounded his fists into the water.
China's Sun Yang reacts after finishing first in the men's 400-meter freestyle swimming final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Saturday, July 28, 2012.(AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa De Olza)
It was the start of a big night for a Chinese swimming team that is developing into a major power.
Shortly after Sun won the 400-meter freestyle by a large margin over defending champion Park Tae-hwan, 16-year-old teammate Ye Shiwen announced her arrival on swimming's greatest stage with a world record in the grueling 400 individual medley.
Ye celebrated with teammate Li Xuanxu in the next lane, who took bronze.
Sun had already made himself known by taking down Grant Hackett's 11-year-old world record in the marathon-like 1,500 free before a home crowd at last year's world championships in Shanghai, but he had never won an Olympic medal.
"I was so eager and impatient to go on the podium," said Sun, shedding tears after cooling down from his victory celebration. "Today if I cry it's really because I worked hard for one year, or even more. I get up very early and worked very hard. This is a reward for me and my coach, who is not well. After I return he will go through surgery. My parents came. They are really great parents, they gave me so much."
Sun trains under Hackett's former coach Denis Cotterell.
Park was temporarily disqualified for a false start in morning heats, but was then reinstated following an appeal.
"With him in the final I think this is a good ac
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