China News Service, Beijing, February 14 (Reporter Liu Xingchen) On the 13th local time, the 2024 Doha World Swimming Championships ended the competition for the third competition day of the swimming event. In the women's 100-meter breaststroke final, Chinese teenager Tang Qianting won the world championship for the first time in 1:05.27, setting a new personal best.
The Chinese team has been waiting for this World Championships women's 100-meter breaststroke gold medal for 21 years.
Image source: Screenshot of FINA website
In the women's 100-meter breaststroke preliminaries and semi-finals, Tang Qianting, who was in excellent form, ranked first.
In the final, Tang Qianting was in the fourth lane. After starting, she was in the lead and swam the first 50 meters in 30.25 seconds. Facing the opponent's pursuit, Tang Qianting withstood the pressure and hit the wall first. Her winning time of 1 minute, 05 seconds and 27 seconds also broke the national record set by Ji Liping in 2009.
Walking ashore, Tang Qianting was still excited. She cried with joy as the audience cheered.
Image source: World Swimming Federation video screenshot
"I didn't expect to be able to swim with such a good result. I am very surprised. This moment is a very special moment for me and I am very happy." She said.
This moment is also of great significance for the Chinese women's breaststroke. Behind the gold medal is the team's 21 years of ups and downs.
Olympic champion Luo Xuejuan is known as the "Frog Queen".
At the beginning of the 21st century, Luo Xuejuan repeatedly achieved great results in the swimming pool. At the 2003 World Championships in Barcelona, Luo Xuejuan won three gold medals in the women's 50-meter breaststroke, 100-meter breaststroke, and 4×100-meter medley relay. That year, she was 19 years old.
Chinese women's breaststroke is on top of the world.
But as Luo Xuejuan faded out of the competition, the Chinese team fell into a trough in the women's breaststroke event.
The picture shows Luo Xuejuan on her way to deliver the torch. (Information map) Image source: Osports All Sports Media
Also at the World Championships, the person who took over the mantle of her predecessors and continued to write history was Tang Qianting.
At the Athens Olympics 20 years ago, Luo Xuejuan won the women's 100-meter breaststroke championship and set a new Olympic record for the event.
Also in 2004, Tang Qianting was born in Shanghai. After getting into swimming, the girl found a direction for her efforts, and she felt a different kind of happiness from swimming.
"She can endure hardship and overcome difficulties, which is rare." Zhang Qiong, Tang Qianting's first coach, once commented.
Image source: World Swimming Federation video screenshot
Along the way, Tang Qianting has always believed: We must look forward, and the future is always bright.
After entering the professional arena, Tang Qianting's performance failed to achieve rapid growth at first. In 2019, her best time in the women's 100-meter breaststroke was 1:08.66, ranking only 101st in the world.
The young Tang Qianting was not discouraged. On New Year's Day 2021, she finally broke out.
At that time, the first leg of the Chinese Swimming Championship was held in Shijiazhuang. Tang Qianting swam 1:06.40 in the 100-meter breaststroke preliminaries and 1:06.87 in the final. After that, her grades continued to improve steadily.
Tang Qianting won the women's 50-meter breaststroke gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games. (File photo) Photo by China News Service reporter Tang Yanjun
After being selected for the national team, Tang Qianting once again broke through herself.
At last year's Fukuoka World Championships, Tang Qianting broke her own Asian record with a time of 30.08 seconds in the women's 50m breaststroke preliminaries. At the Hangzhou Asian Games a few months later, she once again broke the Asian record with a time of 29.92 seconds in the preliminaries, and finally won the championship with a time of 29.96 seconds.
Although she is only 19 years old, Tang Qianting's mentality is already quite mature. She is not in a hurry for success, but cares more about the happiness that swimming brings her. "I still have a long way to go, and my swimming career is also long. I can take my time, adjust myself better, and enjoy the competition with a better mentality."
In this "post-00s" youngster, Luo Xuejuan saw the shadow of her former self. In her opinion, Tang Qianting, who has trained hard, is expected to compete for gold medals at the Paris Olympics after accumulating more experience in competitions.
In the women's 200-meter breaststroke final of the 2023 National Swimming Championships, Tang Qianting won the championship. (File photo) Photo by China News Service reporter Tomita
This is the third time Tang Qianting has participated in the World Championships. She also reached the top at the age of 19.
19 years old is also the golden age of swimmers. This girl who loves swimming will not stop with a World Championship gold medal.
Looking to the future, Tang Qianting has set her sights on the Paris Olympics. She is eager to swim within 1 minute and 05 seconds and stand on the podium.
In the words of senior Luo Xuejuan, Tang Qianting has a promising future. I hope this legacy can continue. (over)