China wins men's gymnastics team gold at Dakar Youth Olympics

Gold medalists Yang Lanbin(C), Zhao Ruiyang (L) and Li Lezheng of Team China celebrate during the awards ceremony of the Artistic Gymnastics men's team final at Dakar 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games at Dakar Expo Center in Diamniadio, Senegal, Nov. 9, 2026. (Xinhua/Chen Wei)

DAKAR, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- China claimed the men's artistic gymnastics team gold medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Monday, finishing with 158.463 points ahead of Japan and Britain.

Japan took silver with 156.230 points, while Britain secured bronze with 153.763.

The Chinese trio of Yang Lanbin, Li Lezheng and Zhao Ruiyang entered the final as the top qualifiers, having scored 159.228 points in Saturday's qualification round.

Competing at the Dakar Expo Center, China posted the highest team scores on floor exercise and horizontal bar, while sharing the top spot with Japan on parallel bars.

Zhao said mutual trust and teamwork had played an important role in their victory.

"The most important thing is that we stayed united and worked together toward the same goal," he said.

When the final results were announced, the three Chinese gymnasts celebrated with their national flag, with Yang overcome by emotion and shedding tears.

"The first thing that came to my mind was how difficult it had been to win this gold medal," Yang said.

He recalled the demanding preparations, which involved extensive training on full routines while managing fatigue and taking precautions against injuries.

Chinese coach Huang Yuguo was delighted with the team's performance, saying the gymnasts had made significant progress.

Looking ahead, Huang said the young gymnasts would need to continue developing their strength and physical capabilities, increase the difficulty of their routines and maintain consistency and execution quality.

"They still have a long way to go. Keep working hard. The future is promising," he said.