Zhang Zhanshuo Hits Another 1:44 200 Free, As Sun Yang And Pan Zhanle Falter

2026 CHINESE NATIONAL SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, June 16 – Sunday, June 21, 2026
• Hangzhou, China
• LCM (50 meters)
• Live Results
• Daily Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

The 2026 Chinese National Swimming Championships saw day four unfold from Hangzhou, with the country’s top performers putting up their best in the hopes of making the Asian Games squad. The top two finishers in each event qualify, with the nation hoping to once again top the overall swimming medal table against rivals such as Japan and South Korea once that prestigious competition begins in September.

Tonight, 13-year-old phenom Yu Zidi stole the show, wreaking havoc on the women’s 400m IM event en route to gold.

The teen, who collected a trio of 4th-place finishes as a 12-year-old at last year’s World Championships, scorched a new lifetime best of 4:30.79 to become the 8th-fastest performer in history.

Her outing dropped over 2.5 seconds from her former best of 4:33.33 to now rank 2nd in the world on the season. You can read more about Yu’s phenomenal swim here.

Another head-turning performance came in the men’s 100m butterfly, where 23-year-old Xu Fang scorched a new lifetime best of 50.73 to not only take the gold but also establish a new national record.

Xu registered the sole time of the pack under the 51-second barrier, with his swim erasing the former Chinese benchmark of 50.96 Li Zhuhao put on the books at the 2017 World Championships.

Entering this competition, Xu’s lifetime best checked in at the 51.38 notched at last year’s Chinese National Games, so he hacked off significant time on his way to topping the podium.

Runner-up status went to Wang Xizhe, who touched in 51.41, while Wang Changhao collected the bronze in 51.54. Look for a follow-up post with more details on Xu’s new Chinese national record.

28-year-old Zhang Yufei made some noise in the women’s 100m fly, producing a gold medal-worthy time of 56.64 to beat her competitors.

The six-time Olympic medalist at the 2024 Games in Paris opened in 26.20 and closed in 30.44 to hold off a charging Yu Yiting, the newly minted Asian record holder in the women’s 200m IM.

20-year-old Yu, who trains under storied Australian coach Michael Bohl in China, delivered a swift silver-medal-garnering swim of 56.67. She split 26.51/30.16 to fall just .03 shy of the gold medal position.

Gong Zhenqi rounded out the podium in 57.29.

As for Yu, her previous career-quickest performance in this 1fly event rested at the 56.82 she posted over two years ago, so she seems to be experiencing a resurgence after having paired up with Bohl. Look for an additional article providing her recent results as a testament to the fruits of the duo’s labors.

The men’s 200m freestyle final saw 19-year-old Zhang Zhanshuo turn in a remarkable performance of 1:44.98 to get the job done for gold and Asian Games qualification.

The versatile teen, who already pumped out a new 100m free personal best here, nabbed gold in a speedy 1:44.98.

He split 24.45/26.41 (50.86)/26.89/27.23 on his way to beating a stacked field, one which contained multi-Olympic medalist veteran Sun Yang and 100m freestyle world record holder Pan Zhanle.

The next-closest swimmer to Zhang was represented by Fei Liwei, who hit 1:46.63, while Liu Yaojie bagged the bronze in 1:46.87.

Further down the line, 34-year-old Sun posted 1:47.19, as Pan was the 7th-place finisher in 1:47.52, despite owning a lifetime best of 1:44.65 to rank as China’s #3 performer in history.

As for rising ace Zhang, his fastest remains at the 1:44.53 established just this past March at the Chinese Open to sit only behind Sun’s national record of 1:44.39 as the #2 Chinese man of all time.

Additional Notes

• Li Wanwei proved too quick to catch in the women’s 100m backstroke, although she got to the wall just .01 ahead of the field. Li touched in 59.17, with Peng Xuwei, already the 200m back victor here, settling for silver a fingernail behind in 59.18. Wan Letian doubled up on her 50m back victory from earlier in the competition with the bronze in this longer sprint in 59.58.
• Three-time Olympic medalist Tang Qianting produced a solid performance of 1:05.93 to take the women’s 100m breaststroke tonight. That got her to the wall ahead of Yang Chang, who delivered an outing of 1:06.23, followed by Hu Qianhao, who hit 1:07.79 as the bronze medalist. 22-year-old Tang remains China’s only woman to have ever dipped under the 1:05 barrier in this event, courtesy of the 1:04.39 national record she logged at the 2024 Chinese Nationals. Her season-best checks in at the 1:05.36 she posted last November to currently rank #2 in the world. She also already notched a new Asian record in the heats of the 50m breast, crushing 29.49 to kick off her campaign at this competition.
• Two notable splits came out of the mixed medley relays tonight, with the 100m breaststroke winner here, Dong Zhihao, unleashing a monster split of 58.07. That pairs with the 58.57 he already logged en route to grabbing the individual event gold over Olympic medalist Qin Haiyang. The men’s 100m backstroke winner at this competition, Xu Jiayu, produced an opening backstroke leg of 52.56, not far off the 52.47 which won him the individual title. Xu also already put up a new Asian record of 23.92 as the 50m backstroke gold medalist.