China News Service, Beijing, February 17. On the 16th local time, the 2024 World Swimming Championships continued in Doha, the capital of Qatar. The Chinese team won the men's 4x200m freestyle relay and the men's 200m breaststroke, bringing the number of gold medals won by the Chinese swimming team at this World Championships to 6, exceeding the 5 in the previous World Championships, with 6 golds, 2 silvers and 1 bronze. Ranked second in the medal list.
In the men's 4x200m freestyle relay final, four Chinese athletes Ji Xinjie, Wang Haoyu, Pan Zhanle and Zhang Zhanshuo worked together to stage a comeback. Veteran Ji Xinjie bit his opponent in the first leg, and Wang Haoyu improved his ranking to second place in the second leg. Pan Zhanle, who gave up the 50-meter freestyle, shortened the gap with the first place in the third leg. In the last leg, young player Zhang Zhanshuo burst out with amazing energy, not only rising his ranking to first place, but also holding on to the last leg of the Korean team, 200. The impact of meter freestyle gold medalist Huang Xuanyou won the championship in 7 minutes, 01 seconds and 84 seconds. This result is only 0.11 seconds away from the Asian record.
This is the second men's relay gold medal won by Xinjie, Wang Haoyu, Pan Zhanle and Zhang Zhanshuo in this World Championships season after the men's 4x100m freestyle relay. It is also Pan Zhanle's third gold medal in this World Championships. As the youngest player among the four, Zhang Zhanshuo's wonderful performance at the last moment was praised by the three "seniors".
Chinese teenager Dong Zhihao also staged a stunning comeback in the men's 200-meter breaststroke final. In the last 50 meters, he surpassed five people from sixth position to first place, and finally reached the finish line first in 2 minutes, 07 seconds and 94 seconds. This result also refreshed his personal best result in this project.
After the game, he attributed the gold medal to the coaching team's tactical arrangements. Looking to the future, Dong Zhihao hopes to continue to improve and strive to break into the top eight at the Paris Olympics.
In the women's 100-meter freestyle final held on the same day, Hong Kong star He Shibei won the silver medal in 52.56 seconds. In the women's 50-meter butterfly semifinals, Chinese player Yu Yiting ranked fourth and advanced to the finals.
On the 17th local time, the Doha World Swimming Championships will usher in six finals of the women's 50-meter butterfly, men's 50-meter freestyle, women's 200-meter backstroke, men's 100-meter butterfly, women's 800-meter freestyle, and mixed 4x100-meter freestyle relay. (over)