China’s performance at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, has been nothing short of impressive, led by the astounding efforts of breaststroke specialist Qin Haiyang. On Tuesday, 24-year-old Qin continued his stellar momentum, setting a new Asian record with a time of 26.20 seconds in the men’s 50 meters breaststroke semifinal.
Not far behind, teammate Sun Jiajun finished the same race with a commendable 26.78 seconds. Their collective efforts guaranteed both swimmers a place in the grand finale, scheduled to take place on Wednesday evening.
Qin’s journey at the World Championships has been nothing short of extraordinary. His participation in the global event, which spans five separate occasions, has seen him shattering Asian records in the breaststroke disciplines an impressive five times. His standout performance came when he clocked the second-fastest all-time result of 57.69 seconds in the 100 meters. This feat not only shaved 0.13 seconds off his previous Asian record of 57.82 seconds set in the semifinals but also secured him a gold medal in Monday’s event.
Yet, Qin isn’t stopping there. His latest result is only 0.81 seconds behind the world record of 56.88 seconds, set by British swimmer Adam Peaty back in 2019. Unfortunately, Peaty has opted out of the championship due to ongoing mental health struggles. Despite Peaty’s absence, Qin’s formidable performances have caught the attention of fans across the globe, with Chinese supporters proudly dubbing him the “King of Breaststroke”. They’re fervently hoping he can challenge, or even topple, Peaty’s record at the forthcoming Paris Olympics next year.
Meanwhile, on the women’s front, long-distance swimmer Li Bingjie finished the 1,500 meters freestyle event with an impressive time of 15:45.71. This performance allowed her to clinch a bronze medal for China, despite US swimmer Katie Ledecky’s dominating presence, who led the race with a significant 17.04-second gap.
The competition continued with high stakes in the men’s 100 meters final, where backstroke expert Xu Jiayu found himself at a shocking fourth-place finish. Despite being the leading performer in the semifinals, Xu fell short of a podium finish by a mere 0.06 seconds, leaving him and his fans in disbelief.
Adding to China’s performance at the championships, Liu Yaxin, a female backstroke specialist, pleasantly surprised the fans by qualifying for the women’s 200 meters final in freestyle.
Notably, the beginning of the week had also witnessed China making significant strides in the championship. Olympic champion Zhang Yufei claimed her first gold in a world championship by winning the women’s 100 meters butterfly with a time of 56.12 seconds. Yu Yiting followed suit by securing her first medal, a bronze, in the women’s 200 meters medley clocking in at 2:08.74.
In comparison to last year’s World Championships held in Budapest, Hungary, where China could only manage a single gold medal victory courtesy of Yang Junxuan in the women’s 200 meters freestyle, this year’s performance exhibits an impressive growth trajectory. The nation’s swimming prowess is steadily rising, with several noteworthy achievements under its belt. And as the World Aquatics Championships continues, the world is eagerly watching, waiting to see what other records China’s swimmers might break.
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