2022 Swammy Awards: Asian Female Of The Year – Li Bingjie

To see all of our 2022 Swammy Awards, click here.

2022 ASIAN FEMALE SWIMMER OF THE YEAR: LI BINGJIE, CHINA

For the first time since 2018, a swimmer not named Siobhan Haughey takes home the Swammy for Asian Female of the Year. The 2022 winner is Li Bingjie of China, with the 20-year-old producing one of the best years of her young career.

Li’s primary accolade for 2022 was the world record she produced in the women’s short course 400 freestyle. She ripped a 3:51.30 stunner while competing at the Chinese Swimming Championships in October, hacking 2.6 seconds off of the old mark Australia’s Ariarne Titmus put up at the 2018 Short Course World Championships.

Entering the Chinese Championships Li’s lifetime best rested at the 3:55.83 she logged at the 2021 Short Course World Championships, while the Chinese national and Asian continental record stood at the 3:53.97 fellow Chinese swimmer Wang Jianjiahe registered in 2018.

As such, Li knocked more than two and a half seconds off of that mark and more than four seconds off her own previous PB en route to clocking the new World Record.

Li also logged a time of 15:41.80 in the 1500m freestyle this season. That not only gave her the Chinese National title, but it also established a new Asian Record to boot. She sliced three seconds off of the previous continental standard Japan’s Waka Kobori put on the books in February 2021.

Showing her range, Li also clocked a new national record in the 200 free, beating out reigning long course world champion Yang Junxuan in the process.

Li stopped the clock in a time of 1:51.25 at the Chinese Championships, destroying the previous Chinese record of 1:53.07 Tang Yi posted over a decade ago.

With these impressive performances behind her, Li seemed primed to do some major damage in Melbourne at this year’s Short Course World Championships. However, the Chinese roster got hit hard with COVID-19 and Li herself tested positive upon arriving in Australia. She was forced to withdraw from her races.

Li’s strong short course season came on the heels of a relatively quiet long course season, though she did make the final of the women’s 800 free at the 2022 LC World Championships in Budapest, placing fifth (8:23.15) while also taking ninth in the 1500 free and 10th in the 400 free.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Yang Junxuan – Yang topped the women’s 200 freestyle podium in Budapest at this year’s long course World Championships. Her time of 1:54.92 was within range of her personal best while her result marked the only gold medal for China in Budapest. Additionally, while competing at the Chinese Nationals in October, Yang became the first woman ever from her nation to dip under the 52-second threshold in the SCM 100 freestyle. Yang recorded a new national standard of 51.78, easily overtaking the previous mark of 52.04 Zhu Menghui logged in 2018.
• Zhang Yufei – China’s megastar from the 2020 Olympic Games followed up with a solid 2022. The 24-year-old collected a trio of bronze medals at the long course World Championships, reaping third-place finishes across the 50, 100 and 200 butterfly events. Zhang also nabbed bronze in the 50 fly at the Short Course World Championships, with her time of 24.71 registering a new Asian Record. Zhang also set a new Chinese Record of 23.76 in the 50 free leading off one of China’s relays, but due to a shoulder injury sustained midway through the meet, pulled out of her other events.

Previous Winners:

• 2021 – Siobhan Haughey, Hong Kong
• 2020 – Siobhan Haughey, Hong Kong
• 2019 – Siobhan Haughey, Hong Kong
• 2018 – Rikako Ikee, Japan
• 2017 – Li Bingjie, China
• 2016 – Rie Kaneto, Japan
• 2015 – Kanako Watanabe, Japan
• 2014 – Ye Shiwen, China
• 2013 – Aya Terakawa, Japan