Today’s finals session at the Beijing stop of the 2016 FINA World Cup tour saw a Junior World Record go down, courtesy of China’s Menghui Zhu in the women’s 50 SCM freestyle. Menghui set the new record at 24.00, tying Denmark’s Jeanette Ottesen for World Cup gold in the process.
FINA has only recently begun tracking Junior World Records in the short course meters pool, and they’ve set “World Best Times” as the standard for setting the initial records.
With her performance in today’s 50 free, Zhu is now the 2nd female swimmer to do so, as Russia’s Elizaveta Permiakova became the first with her record in the 50 fly. Only a handful of men have accomplished the feat so far as well. That list includes Russia’s Anton Chuokov (100 breast), Romania’s Robert Glinta (100 back), and Turkey’s Huseyin Sakci (50 breast).
Zhu is no stranger to success, having competed for China at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games this summer. At the Games, she was among the top junior swimmers in the 100 free, clocking a 53.98 in the semifinals. She also played a role for China in the 4×100 free relay and 4×100 medley relay.
