London (CNN) — China claimed the first Olympic gold of the London 2012 Games today, with a victory for 23-year-old Siling Yi in the women’s ten-meter air rifle shooting, as the first official day of the Summer Games got going.
“I’m very excited and happy,” she said, quoted by the official Games website. The world’s No. 1, who started shooting at age 13, said there had been “a lot of pressure” on her to perform.
Meanwhile, rival American swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte are set to go head-to-head in a battle that will be a highlight of the day.
And Albanian weightlifter Hysen Pulaku became the first athlete to be sanctioned for failing an anti-doping test at the London Games.
Pulaku, 20, tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid stanozolol, the International Olympic Committee said, and has been excluded from the competition.
Queen Elizabeth II made an appearance at the Aquatics Center today to watch the action, having officially declared the Games open the previous night.
Â

![BTMI EUR Fly From Barbados Condor 2026_Pop-ups- [600p wide x 600p high]-](https://nationnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/BTMI-EUR-Fly-From-Barbados-Condor-2026_Pop-ups-600p-wide-x-600p-high--0x0.jpg)