Chinese swimmers showcased their dominance at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Shanghai on Saturday, breaking two short course Asian records. Tang Qianting claimed gold in the women's 100-meter breaststroke, setting a new Asian record with a time of 1:02.53.
"I believe records are meant to be broken," Tang expressed confidently after her victory. "I want to become the world record holder in the future." Her time was only 0.17 seconds shy of the world record set by Jamaica's Alia Atkinson at 1:02.36.
"It's a little pity because I was going after the world record," Tang added. "I fell short of breaking that because I didn't have systematic training recently. I only had two weeks for break and recovery after finishing competing in Wuhan and starting over in Shanghai. After I finish the events here, I will go back to practice. I hope I can perform my best and break the world record in Budapest."
At just 20 years old, Tang sees this achievement as the beginning of a more illustrious journey. "I want this win to be a start, not an end," she said determinedly.
Belarusian swimmer Alina Zmushka secured the silver medal, while Rebecca Meder of South Africa took bronze. China's Yang Chang finished in fourth place.
In the men's 50-meter breaststroke, Qin Haiyang set a new Asian record by winning the final in 25.38 seconds. He edged out Belarus's Ilya Shymanovich by 0.13 seconds, with fellow Chinese swimmer Sun Jiajun earning bronze, 0.41 seconds behind.
Home favorite Pan Zhanle narrowly missed gold in the men's 100-meter freestyle, finishing second to Italy's Thomas Ceccon. Ceccon touched the wall at 46.32 seconds, just ahead of Pan's 46.35 seconds. South Africa's Pieter Coetze claimed bronze with a time of 46.59 seconds.
In the women's 50-meter butterfly final, China's Zhang Yufei and Yu Yiting added to the medal tally with a silver and bronze, respectively. Zhang completed the race in 24.94 seconds, and Yu followed closely at 25.07 seconds. The gold medal was won by the USA's Kate Douglass, who finished in 24.54 seconds.
The outstanding performances by China's swimmers highlight the nation's growing prowess in competitive swimming, setting the stage for more record-breaking feats on the international stage.
Reference(s):
Chinese swimmers break two short course Asian records at World Cup
cgtn.com
