Nicolò Martinenghi won gold in the 100-meter breaststroke on Sunday at the Paris Olympics, thrilling Italian fans and canceling several of the main story lines going into the race. Martinenghi was the bronze medalist in this event in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and won at the world championships earlier this year in Doha. But he was not the expected winner.

That was to be Great Britain’s Adam Peaty — the two-time defending Olympic champion in the event in Lane 4. Another potential gold medalist was thought to be China’s Qin Haiyang in Lane 5, who swept the 50, 100 and 200 breaststroke last year in the world championships. Qin is the world record holder in the 200, and Peaty holds the 100 mark.