Chinese Nationals, Day 1: Olympic Champions Pan Zhanle, Wang Shun Among Big-Name Winners
Six finals took place on the opening night of competition at Chinese Nationals in Hangzhou, and some of the most accomplished and recognized swimmers from the country claimed victories. Among that group were the last two Chinese men to win Olympic gold medals in swimming, freestyler Pan Zhanle and individual medley specialist Wang Shun.
Pan put up a time of 47.91 for first in the 100 freestyle, finishing ahead of Zhang Shanshuo (48.33), Wang Haoyu (48.36) and Chen Juner (48.55). Pan owns the world record in the event at 46.40, a performance he recorded on the way to Olympic gold in Paris two years ago. Pan is hoping to regain his spot atop the rankings after a disappointing 2025 in which he missed the World Championships final. Meanwhile, Pan and his compatriots should have the speed to contend with the rest of the world in the 400 free relay.
Wang topped the 200 IM in 1:56.16, well clear of Xie Yichen (1:59.42) and Gu Enyi (2:00.29). The 32-year-old was the gold medalist in the event five years ago in Tokyo, and he also earned bronze medals in 2016 and 2024.
Yu Zidi, the 13-year-old prodigy who nearly captured an individual medal at last year’s World Championships with three fourth-place finishes, continues to impress in the 200 butterfly. She took the win in 2:06.12, not far off her season-best of 2:05.71 set in March. Yu currently ranks fourth in the world in the event behind Summer McIntosh, Regan Smith and Elizabeth Dekkers. In Hangzhou, she was followed by Gong Zhenqi (2:07.30) and Chang Mohan (2:07.54).
In the men’s 100 backstroke, Xu Jiayu put up a dominant time of 52.47. The world champion from 2017 and 2019 and the silver medalist from the Paris Olympics beat the field by more than a second, with Jiang Chenglin second (53.85) and Wang Zicheng (54.06).
Tang Qianting swam a time of 29.95 in the 50 breaststroke to win over Yang Chang (30.33) and Yu Yiting (30.45). Tang won Olympic silver in the 100 breast in 2024, and she has finished in the same spot in the 50 breast at the last two World Championships. In the 1500 free, veteran distance standout Li Bingjie won a tight final in 16:06.81, just edging out Gao Weizhong (16:07.44) and Ma Yonghui (16:08.26).
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