Olympic champion Zhang Yufei added a fourth gold medal to her collection on the penultimate day of China’s national swimming championships in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, on Friday.
Representing the combined team of Shanghai-Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Jiangxi-Shandong, Zhang secured her latest victory in the mixed 4x100m medley relay. Teaming up with fellow swimming stars Xu Jiayu, Qin Haiyang, and Yang Junxun—all acclaimed as Olympic or World champions—the quartet finished with a time of 3 minutes and 41.82 seconds.
This triumph builds on the team’s previous success at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, where Zhang, Xu, Yang, and Yan Zibei clinched the silver medal in the same event with a time of 3:38.86. Qin Haiyang, who replaced Yan in the relay, has emerged as a dominant force in the breaststroke, having won the men’s overall title in last year’s World Cup series.
In other events on Friday, Wang Changhao claimed victory in the men’s 100m butterfly with a time of 51.20 seconds. Li Bingjie won the women’s 800m freestyle, finishing in 8:25.43, while Yu Yiting topped the women’s 200m medley in 2:09.73.
The national swimming championships, doubling as a qualifying tournament for the Paris 2024 Olympics, conclude on Saturday. The nine-day schedule mirrors that of the upcoming Games, providing Chinese swimmers with an opportunity to acclimate and secure their spots for Paris.
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Zhang Yufei wins 4th gold in China's national swimming championships
cgtn.com
