Veteran Wang Shun Continues to Make an Impact in 200 Individual Medley
As China moves toward the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, it features a quality crop of rising stars. Headlining that group is Yu Zidi, the 13-year-old multi-event talent who just missed several individual podium finishes at last summer’s World Championships. Meanwhile, Zhang Zhanshuo is a budding distance-freestyle star who also excels in the 400 individual medley.
But a veteran talent continues to lurk for China, a 31-year-old who is likely a future inductee of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. No, Wang Shun did not medal at the most recent edition of the World Champs, but the longtime international presence continues to compete at a high level and could deliver a few more bullet points to his resume.
Medaling in the same event at three consecutive Olympics is not an easy task, but Wang has accomplished that feat in the 200-meter individual medley. At the 2020 Games in Tokyo, Wang fended off Great Britain’s Duncan Scott to secure the gold medal, a title that has been sandwiched by bronze-medal performances at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the 2024 Games in Paris.
Along the way, the Chinese star has earned a pair of medals in the 200 IM at the World Champs and is the two-time defending Asian Games titlist. He claimed his first major medal on the international stage when he won silver as a 16-year-old at the 2010 edition of the Asian Games. Along the way, Wang has also flourished in the 400 individual medley and, most recently, he contributed to China’s silver medal in the 800 freestyle relay at last year’s World Champs.
Duncan Scott of Great Britain, silver, Leon Marchand of France, gold, Wang Shun of China, bronze, display their medals after competing in the final of the 200 individual medley during the 2024 Olympic Games at La Defense Arena in Paris (France), August 02, 2024.
What does Wang have left in the holster? The 2025 campaign was not all roses for the veteran, as he placed seventh in the final of the 200 medley at Worlds. Yet, his top time for the year was 1:56.20, produced at the Chinese National Games in November and good for eighth-fastest in the world. As recently as 2024, Wang was 1:55.35.
Like many Chinese athletes, Wang is expected to make the Asian Games his focus competition for 2026. That meet is scheduled for September in Tokyo and a clash with Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita could be one of the top showdowns of the week. From there, Wang will look to the 2027 World Championships in Budapest and, of course, the next Olympics in Los Angeles.
The 200 individual medley is stacked with talent, led by Frenchman Leon Marchand, the reigning Olympic champ and world-record holder at 1:52.69. Meanwhile, American Shaine Casas has dipped into 1:54 territory and Hungary’s Hubert Kos, as a complement to his backstroke skill, picked up a bronze medal in the 200 IM at Worlds.
Moving forward, Wang pushing the New World Order in the 200 medley will be a challenge. It’s been two-plus years since he clocked an Asian record of 1:54.62, and age is obviously not reversible. Still, Wang fired off several strong performances during 2025 and a few more hurrahs from an established star wouldn’t be a shock.