The Paris Olympics 2024 opened our eyes to several athletes, who earned their breakthrough moment during the two-week long event. One such athlete was Chinese gymnast Zhou Yaqin, who won silver in the balance beam gymnastics event at Paris 2024. The 18-year-old shot to fame with a heartwarming moment for her being captured on the Olympic podium, as she tried to bite her medal. Now, fans and supporters across the internet have been given a glimpse into her life back home, as she helps her parents in a restaurant.

Zhou Yaqin came second in the balance beam event at Paris 2024, between two Italian gymnasts, Alice D’Amato and Manila Esposito. Two Italians were biting their medal while posing for photos after the event, much to the amusement of Zhou, who tried to do so herself. It created a wholesome moment, that went viral across social media.

Watch: Zhou Yaqin serves food in family restaurant

That cute Chinese gymnast, Zhou Yaqin, who learned the Olympic custom to bite medals after winning a silver one, returned home to work at the restaurant of her parents.

For marketing she serves food now in her Olympic uniform in the “Fat Brother”, Local Cuisine Restaurant… pic.twitter.com/RJ63RceWWT

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) August 16, 2024

Now, in the aftermath of the Olympics, Zhou Yaqin has gone viral once again. This time, however, Zhou can be seen helping out her family serving food at a local restaurant in her native city of Hengyang, in the Hunan province of China.

Who is Zhou Yaqin?

Even at the age of just 18, Zhou Yaqin already boasts a remarkable medal tally in her gymnastics career. Having begun gymnastics when she was only three years old, Zhou specialises in the balance beam category.

In 2020, Zhou won an individual gold in balance beam in the Chinese Championships. In senior level, Zhou has won gold in the National Games of China and the World Championships, before her first Olympic medal in Paris.

In Paris 2024, Zhou qualified ahead of legendary gymnast Simone Biles, and then won silver with a total score of 14.100, slightly less than gold medalist D’Amato’s 14.366. Zhou beat Biles again in the final, as the latter finished outside the podium in fifth.

The Paris Olympics 2024 not only saw some stunning performances, but it was also the stage of several conflicts and controversies. Some of them saw a change in the result, some saw medals being stripped, some saw athletes being sent home, and some raged on as debates on social and world media. From Vinesh Phogat to Imane Khelif, we take a look at the big controversies at the Summer Games, as the Paris Olympics 2024 draws to a close

Gender row surrounding Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting both clinched gold in their respective categories, but not before widespread controversy. With both athletes containing XY chromosomes in their bodies, accusations of them being “male” were rife all across social media. Khelif and Lin had both been disqualified from the 2023 Boxing World Championships, but the IOC had allowed them to compete.

Despite both being born biologically female, Khelif and Lin faced a barrage of incorrect accusations and vitriol, before responding back with gold medals each.

Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification

An event that will shake the Indian sporting culture for quite some time, Vinesh Phogat’s incredible journey to the women’s 57kg freestyle wrestling final was halted as she was disqualified ahead of the final due to being 100 grams overweight. Having been under the weight limit on the first day – when she won her three bouts – she was stripped of her medal and not allowed to play the final.

Vinesh’s case rages on at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), where a verdict on whether she will receive a silver medal will be given shortly.

Cocaine controversy for Tom Craig

Australian field hockey player Tom Craig was arrested for attempting to buy cocaine in Paris, along with a 17-year-old seller. However, he was let off with a slap on the wrist; just a warning, with no formal charges against him.

Although Craig apologised for the incident, he was removed from the remaining hockey proceedings by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and barred from participating in any further activity in Paris 2024.

Jordan Chiles loses bronze after CAS intervention

American gymnast Jordan Chiles’ coach Cecile Landi had submitted an enquiry to the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) to add 0.1 points to Chiles’ score. This enquiry was initially accepted, promoting Chiles from fifth to a bronze-winning third position.

However, intervention by the CAS led to a decision that Landi’s enquiry was 64 seconds beyond the permitted time, and therefore, stripped her of the medal.

Swimmer Luana Alonso’s ‘Expulsion’

Paraguayan swimmer Luana Alonso had been reportedly asked to leave their camp due to ‘inappropriate’ behaviour. However, Alonso later denied the reports, stating that she had not been removed. The swimmer – who failed to make the semi-final of the women’s 100m butterfly event – made further headlines by stating that she had received a ‘DM’ from Brazilian footballer Neymar.

Simone Biles led the United States to a dominant victory in the women’s gymnastics team final on Tuesday, laying the ghosts of Tokyo to rest as she claimed a fifth career Olympic gold medal. Three years after Biles battled a disorientating mental block in Tokyo, pulling out of the team final in which the United States settled for silver, she and teammates Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Sunisa Lee led wire-to-wire in reclaiming gold ahead of Italy, with Brazil taking bronze.

The Americans already had gold in hand when Biles electrified the Bercy Arena crowd with a gravity-defying floor routine that featured two of her signature skills — a double back flip with a half twist and the “triple-double” of two back flips with three twists.

The United States combined for the highest score on all four apparatus for a total of 171.296 points and a whopping 5.802-point margin over Italy.

Italy won silver in 1928, but their best result in the modern era was fourth in Tokyo.

For the Brazilian squad led by Tokyo vault gold medallist Rebeca Andrade it was a first Olympic team medal.

The Americans grabbed their third team gold in four Games after victories in 2012 and 2016.

This one was especially sweet for a quartet of gymnasts who were all in Tokyo.

For Biles it marks a return to the Olympic summit after a two-year break as she focused on her mental health. Lee, the all-around champion in Tokyo, has since dealt with two career-threatening kidney ailments.

“Simone was glad it was over for today,” coach Cecile Landi said. “The whole team hasn’t been easy, it’s had its ups and downs so to make it happen was just a relief.

“After Tokyo I’m so happy we’re here on the other side.”

Biles now has eight Olympic medals, the most of any gymnast in history, and once again the stars were out for the sport’s greatest ever.

Serena Williams, Nicole Kidman and Bill Gates were on hand, as was Biles’s husband, NFL player Jonathan Owens in a T-shirt emblazoned with his wife’s name and picture.

Fans were on their feet as soon as the United States team were introduced, Biles beaming and blowing kisses before they made their way to the vault podium.

Biles opted not to unleash her demanding double Yurchenko “Biles II” vault.

But with her sore left calf wrapped she was spot-on with her marginally less difficult Cheng vault and the US emerged from the first rotation with a 1.434-point lead over China, whose excellent opening on uneven bars included an outstanding routine from Zhang Yihan.

Competition to coronation

It was the same story as the USA moved on to uneven bars, where Lee set the pace with a routine that garnered 14.566 points.

Chiles had nailed her bars routine and let out a yell before Biles powered through her weakest event, smiling from ear to ear after earning 14.400 points.

At the halfway point, the competition had become a virtual coronation as the United States pushed their lead to 3.102 points over European champions Italy.

China, bedevilled by the consistency problems that have hurt them in the past, had started a slide that would see them eventually finish sixth.

A fall for Chiles on balance beam was barely a blip. Lee got the US back on track with a superb beam routine and Biles weathered a couple of wobbly moments on the 10cm-wide apparatus to send the Americans into their final floor exercise with a 3.602-point cushion.

This was the second of 14 artistic gymnastics titles on the line in Paris, with Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto aiming to defend his men’s all-around title on Wednesday.

Biles will be in action again on Thursday in the women’s all-around final.

Simone Biles made a stunning return to Olympic competition on Sunday, powering through left calf pain to get her multiple-medal bid off to a rousing start. The US superstar, aiming to add to the four gold medals she won in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, tweaked her left calf warming up for her second apparatus, the floor exercise. It didn’t stop her from soaring through her signature Yurchenko double pike vault — now known as the Biles II — which even with a big step back on landing earned a 9.4 for execution for a massive total of 15.800 points.

She had another step back landing her second vault, but laughed as she crawled back towards her teammates on her hands and knees.

That was all it took for Biles’s coach Cecile Landi to know that for Biles “It’s on. It’s OK.”

Landi, who said Biles aggravated a minor injury she’d been dealing with for a couple of weeks, said there was never any question the superstar gymnast would not continue.

“Never in her mind, no, no. Just no,” Landi said, adding that she was also confident Biles would be ready to go for the team final on Tuesday and the individual events to follow.

Landi said Biles was already feeling better by the time she closed out her day by sticking the landing on her uneven bars routine — receiving another huge ovation and beaming as she shared a dance with teammate Jordan Chiles.

With two of the five qualifying sessions complete Biles topped the all-around standings with 59.566 points.

“It was pretty amazing, 59.5,” Landi said. “Not perfect, so she still can improve… just really good.”

Teammate Suni Lee — the Tokyo Olympics all-around champion — was in second — a promising start for the US team as they vie to regain team gold after settling for silver in Japan.

At the end of their session the USA were assured of a team finals berth with score of 172.296 points.

Italy were in second, China in third and Britain in fourth. Team medal contenders Brazil and France were scheduled to compete later.

Brazil, led by Tokyo vault gold medallist Rebeca Andrade, won world championships silver behind the United States last year.

France, led by Melanie De Jesus Dos Santos and three-time Olympian Marine Boyer, boast one of their strongest Olympic squads ever.

‘Out of this world’

But Biles remains the benchmark.

“She’s just out of this world, isn’t she?” British gymnast Ruby Evans said. “We’ve never had anyone like her before and I don’t think we ever will, ever again.”

Biles led the vault and floor exercise standings and was second in balance beam behind China’s Zhou Yaqin. Her eighth spot in uneven bars meant she could miss out on the eight-woman final of that event.

Biles withdrew from multiple events at the Tokyo Games as she battled the disorientating mental block that gymnasts call “twisties”.

She still went home with a silver and bronze and was lauded for speaking openly about mental health struggles.

After two years away, Biles returned to win four world titles last year, taking her tally to an astonishing 23.

At 27 she could become the oldest women’s all-around Olympic champion in 72 years and just the third woman to capture more than one Olympic all-around title.

‘Incredible’

The buzz was palpable at Bercy Arena, where celebrity fans included Hollywood A-listers Tom Cruise, Jessica Chastain and Greta Gerwig, pop star Ariana Grande, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and Olympic snowboard star Shaun White and his wife, Canadian actress Nina Dobrev.

Chants of “U-S-A” rang out even before gymnasts made their entrance for the second session of qualifying, and the roar when Biles was introduced was deafening.

She crushed every element in her opening balance beam routine, roaring through her aerial skills and spins without a wobble.

It was then she appeared to hurt herself warming up for the floor exercise, but after having her left leg taped from calf to foot Biles delivered a dynamic floor routine that featured both her Biles I double layout with half a twist and her Biles II “triple-double” of two back flips with three twists.

“It’s incredible,” US team technical lead Chellsie Memmel said. “What she was able to do looking like she has soreness or something in her leg is remarkable.”

File photo of Simone Biles.© AFP