Wang Shun Scorches 1:55.00 200 IM For Olympic Gold, #3 Performer All-Time

2020 TOKYO SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

• When: Pool swimming: Saturday, July 24 – Sunday, August 1, 2021
  • Open Water swimming: Wednesday, August 4 – Thursday, August 5, 2021
• Where: Olympic Aquatics Centre / Tokyo, Japan
• Heats: 7 PM / Semifinals & Finals: 10:30 AM (Local time)
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Wang Shun swam a new Asian record of 1:55.00 in the men’s 200 IM en route to Olympic gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Shun of China improved upon Japanese swimmer Kosuke Hagino‘s former Asian record of 1:55.07 which he swam at the 2016 Japanese Swimming Championships.

Split Comparison

Shun was out slightly slower than Hagino was on the front half of the race, splitting a 53.78 across the butterfly and backstroke, compared to Hagino’s near-second faster split of 52.86. Shun brought it home on the back half though and produced quicker breaststroke and freestyle laps than Hagino did to undercut the former record by 0.07 seconds.

The swim by Shun is also an improvement upon his own Chinese record in the event which stood at a 1:56.16 from the 2017 Chinese Championships. Shun neared that mark during the semi-finals at the Tokyo Games with a 1:56.22 but had been a little further off during the heats with his 1:57.42.

This swim for Shun makes him the 3rd fastest man in the history of the event behind Ryan Lochte‘s 1:54.00 world record from 2011 and Michael Phelps‘ 1:54.16 from that same year. Lochte and Phelps together hold a total of 14 swims under Shun’s 1:55.00 which means he now holds the 15th fastest performance in history.

All-Time Performers In The Men’s 200 IM

1. Ryan Lochte (USA) – 1:54.00 (2011)
2. Michael Phelps (USA) – 1:54.16 (2011)
3. Wang Shun (CHN) – 1:55.00 (2021)
4. Kosuke Hagino (JPN) – 1:55.07 (2016)
5. Laszlo Cseh (HUN) – 1:55.18 (2009)
6. Michael Andrew (USA) – 1:55.26 (2021)
7. Duncan Scott (GBR) – 1:55.28 (2021)
8. Eric Shanteau (USA) – 1:55.36 (2009)

Shun was followed on the podium by Great Britain’s Duncan Scott who threw down a 1:55.28 national record for the silver medal and Swiss swimmer Jeremy Desplanches who swam a 1:56.17 for bronze, also marking a new national record.

This gold medal performance for Wang Shun is his second-straight podium finish in the event, having won a bronze medal back in 2016 with a 1:57.05. That’s a 2.05-second improvement for Wang as he moves up 2 spots on the podium to take gold at Tokyo 2020. Shun won bronze in 2016 to Michael Phelps who claimed gold in a 1:54.66 and Kosuke Hagino who was a 1:56.61 for silver, trailing his own 1:55.07 Asian record from earlier that year.