Published : 07/08/2025

On August 7, 1984, the China women's volleyball team won their first Olympic gold medal by defeating the United States with 3-0 in the women's volleyball final of the 23rd Los Angeles Olympic Games.

In that tournament, the China women's volleyball team ranked 2nd in their group with 2 wins and 1 loss, advancing to the semi-finals, where they defeated Japan to reach the final.

On the night of August 7 (Los Angeles time), the China women's volleyball team faced the host team USA in the final battle.

In the first set of the match, when the score was tied at 14, then-head coach Yuan Weimin (袁偉民) substituted Hou Yuzhu (侯玉珠) for serving.

Hou Yuzhu scored with her serve and then performed another excellent serve, disrupting the opponent's attack. Lang Ping (郎平) seized the opportunity to score decisively.

After winning the 1st set, the China women's volleyball team continued their dominance in the 2nd set, easily defeating the United States 15-3.

In the crucial 3rd set, the China women's volleyball team took a significant lead of 14-9, needing just one more point to make history by winning the Olympic championship.

For the final point, Zhu Ling (朱玲) blocked the opponent's attack, Yang Xilan (楊錫蘭) set the ball for Liang Yan (梁艷), who then passed it to Zhang Rongfang (張蓉芳) in the 4th position.

Zhang Rongfang jumped without hesitation, delivering a powerful diagonal spike, which the United States failed to defend, resulting in the China team securing the championship.

This victory marked the first time the China women's volleyball team won an Olympic gold medal and successfully achieved a triple crown in the three major international volleyball competitions.