China sweeps artistic gymnastics team golds at Dakar Youth Olympics
L-R: Gold medalists Zhao Ruiyang, Yang Lanbin and Li Lezheng of China pose with their national flag after winning the artistic gymnastics men's team event at the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, November 9, 2026. /VCG
China completed a golden double in artistic gymnastics at the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games on Monday, winning both the men's and women's team titles at the Dakar Expo Center.
The men's trio of Yang Lanbin, Li Lezheng and Zhao Ruiyang topped the standings with 158.463 points, ahead of Japan with 156.230 and Great Britain with 153.763.
Later in the day, Chen Ziyan, Xie Guying and Zhong Qi secured the women's title in a much closer contest, scoring 107.798 points to edge Japan by just 0.234 points. France took bronze with 105.231.
China entered the men's final as the leading qualifier and maintained its advantage with strong performances on floor exercise, vault and horizontal bar.
Yang was overcome by emotion after the victory.
"The first thing that came to my mind was how difficult it had been to win this gold medal," he said.
"Today's competition went very smoothly, and everyone was able to perform freely."
Chinese coach Huang Yuguo expressed satisfaction with the result but emphasized that the young gymnasts still had room to improve their strength, difficulty and consistency.
L-R: Gold medalists Chen Ziyan, Zhong Qi and Xie Guying of China pose on the podium after winning the artistic gymnastics women's team event at the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, November 9, 2026. /VCG
On the women's side, China also entered as the top qualifier, having finished just 0.500 points ahead of Japan in the preliminary round.
The Chinese trio recorded 28.366 points on both uneven bars and balance beam to secure the narrow victory.
Before the final, Xie expressed confidence in China's chances despite Japan's strength.
"Japan is very strong but we're confident that we can do better than them because we put a lot of effort into training back home," she said.
China's sweep came as the men's and women's artistic gymnastics team events made their Youth Olympic debut at Dakar 2026.