Sweden's Armand Duplantis competes to pass 6.25m and set the new world record in the men's pole vault final. Quah Hongchan of China in action in the women's 10m platform.
Two artists of land and water have captured this Games across two days. One rises upwards, the other falls downwards. Both pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis, 24, and diver Quan Hongchan, 17, do this gracefully.
This is sport disguised as aerial poetry. On Monday, the magic number in the pole vault was 6.25m.
A world record. On Tuesday, it was 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10. The perfect score for Quan Hongchan’s first dive in the 10m platform final.
When the Swede cleared the world record bar, even his rival Sam Hendricks leapt in the air in delight. When the Chinese teen ripped through the water, the commentators started laughing in incredulity. There’s something about watching perfection which makes coherent speech difficult.
None of Quan’s other four dives would touch perfection but it was enough. Enough for a second gold in Paris. Enough to retain her title from Tokyo.
Enough to just edge out her compatriot Chen Yuxi. Quan and Duplantis, on the face of it, have little in common, yet they have made us gasp. Both these sports are beautiful yet brutal, strong yet streamlined.
Falling from 10m plays havoc on a diver’s body. There’s tape on their backs, on shoulders, on arms, on ankles. Any art comes with a hefty price.
Only later, when it was over, did the stoic Quan allow herself to weep. Diving is the sist.