Qin Haiyang is a World Record breaststroker who represents China internationally. He first rose to prominence with a series of 200 breast world junior records, only later turning more to the 100 breast where he become the 3rd man ever under 58 seconds LCM. At the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, he cemented himself as the breaststroke king, becoming the first man to sweep the 50-100-200 of any stroke.
International Competition
2017 Chinese Nationals/World Championships
At the Chinese nationals in April, Qin broke 2 world junior records in the 200 breast (2:08.71) and 200 IM (1:57.54). A few months later in Budapest, Qin swam both events, advancing to semi finals in the 200 breast but 15th overall. In the 200 IM, he advanced to finals, where he placed 6th overall in yet another WJR (1:57.04).
2017 National Games of China
Competing in Tianjin at the 13th Annual National Games of China, Qin lowered his own world junior record in the 200 breast by over a second, touching the wall at 2:07.35.
2018 Asian Games
In Jakarta, Qin earned double individual bronze in both the 200 breast (2:08.07) and the 200 IM (1:57.09). He earned a gold medal by swimming in the prelims of the 4×100 medley relay, which went on to set an Asian record and barely edge Japan for 1st place in finals. Qin also swam the 100 breast where he placed 5th (1:00.24).
2018 Short Course World Championships
In his home country of China, Qin earned a silver medal in the 200 breaststroke, setting a new Asian record (2:01.15) in the process.
2023 Chinese Nationals
Competing on day two of the 2023 Chinese Nationals, 23-year-old Qin ripped a time of 57.93 to get it done for gold. He opened in 27.04 and closed in 30.89 to score a monster new personal best. Qin put up a time of 58.66 at the Chinese Spring Championships just last March. Qin’s result tonight hacked well over half a second off that to now join Great Britain’s Adam Peaty and the Netherlands’ Arno Kamminga as the only men to ever get under 58 seconds in the 100m breast event.
2023 World Championships (Fukuoka, Japan)
As the top seed in the 100 breast, Qin crushed a 58.26 to lead the prelims. In semis, he blew away the field by about a second with a new PB of 57.82. It keeps him as the #3 performer all time and breaks his Asian standard. Notably, he was out .27 slower than his old best.
Qin did not disappoint in the final. Leading from wire to wire, Qui beat the triple-tied silver medalists Nicolo Martinenghi, Arno Kamminga, and Nic Fink by 1.03 seconds. His 57.69 moved him past Kamminga for the #2 slot on the all-time performer list. Post-race, laying forth his goals, Qin said “That is a pretty good time. That is my best time. But I can do better. I will catch up to the world record.”
In the 50 breast, Qin was pedaled to the medal. He posted a swift 26.34 in prelims to lead the field and crush his PB as well as the Asian Record. In the semifinals of the 50 breast, he set another Asian record, lowering the 26.34 mark that he set in prelims to 26.20, the #7 performance of all-time which makes Qin the #2 performer behind Peaty. He was just a bit off with a 26.29 in the finals but it got the job done and netted another gold. In the same session, Qin took on relay duties in the mixed 400 medley relay. He split a superb 57.31 as he combined with his teammates for gold.
With a dominant swim, Qin broke the men’s 200 breast world record in a time of 2:05.48, wiping out Zac Stubblety-Cook‘s mark of 2:05.95 from 2022. Qin also handed Stubblety-Cook, who was the defending world and Olympic champion, his first finals loss in the 200 breast since July 2019. He is the first swimmer to sweep the 50, 100, and 200 in any stroke at Worlds.
With Qin being a sprinter, he took his race out considerably faster than Stubblety-Cook at Worlds, and was over a second ahead of him for the majority of his race. Stubblety-Cook had a faster closing split than Qin both at Worlds and when he swam his world record, but the gap was just too much to overcome between the two.
Splits Comparison:
| QIN HAIYANG, 2023 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (CURRENT WORLD RECORD) | ZAC STUBBLETY-COOK, 2023 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS | ZAC STUBBLETY-COOK, 2022 AUSTRALIAN TRIALS (FORMER WORLD RECORD) | |
| 50m | 28.53 | 29.50 | 29.43 |
| 100m | 32.19 | 32.45 | 32.46 |
| 150m | 32.64 | 32.45 | 32.43 |
| 200m | 32.12 | 32.00 | 31.63 |
| Total | 2:05.48 | 2:06.40 | 2:05.95 |
On the 400 Medley relay, Qin split an otherworldly 57.43 to help China to silver in a new Asian record of 3:29.00. He was also the 2nd most decorated swimmer of the meet and most decorated male with 4 golds and a silver.
2021(3) World University Games (Chengdu, China)
If Qin’s run through Worlds was not remarkable enough, he managed to continue to post fast times through the end of the summer and into the late fall. Qin returned to China to compete at WUGs just days after his historic run in Fukuoka. He already made his mark on night 1, resetting the meet record in the 100 breast semis with a 58.42 even though he shut it down as he neared the finish. Interestingly, Qin was off form in the final, still winning by nearly a second but touching in a 58.92, slower than his semis time. Later in the session he split a 58.64 100 breast leg in the mixed 400 medley relay to help China to an easy gold.
He eased his way through the 200 breast prelims and semis before dropping a new meet record of 2:08.09 in the final to win by over 3 seconds. The next morning, he wasted no time in the 50 breast, ripping a new meet record of 26.44. He lowered that mark to a 26.38 in the semis. The next night he missed that mark with a 26.52 but still won by .8 seconds.
Undoubtedly, his best swim came on the final day where he crushed a 57.65 100 breast relay split to help China take the 400 medley relay.
2022(3) Asian Games (Hangzhou, China)
Before the games began, Qin was selected as one of the Chinese flag bearers becoming the first swimmer selected for this honor. His meet started well; qin swam the 200 IM on night 1, taking second behind countryman Wang Shun’s dominating performance with a solid 1:57.41.
Things really got started for Qin on night 2 in the 100 breast. Qin dominated the race, splitting 26.69/31.07 for a 57.76 games record. That was just off his PB and lowered his meet mark of 58.35 he set in the heats.
On day 3, Qin swam breast in the 400 medley relay. The team of Xu Jiayu (52.05), Qin (57.63), Wang Changhao (50.68), and Pan Zhanle (46.65) nailed a huge time of 3:27.01, the #2 time in history and just off the World Record of 3:26.78 from the US in 2021. The relay was a new Asian record and put the rest of the world on high alert. The prior Asian record was set by the exact same quartet at 3:29.00 just a few months prior at Worlds.
It was the same story again the next night in the mixed medley relay. The Chinese squad of Xu (51.91), Qin (57.25), Zhang Yufei (56.05), and Yang Junxuan (52.52) broke the Asian record with the #2 time in history, just .15 seconds off Great Britain’s WR from 2021. That 57.25 was Qin’s fastest relay split ever.
In the 200 breast final on day 5, Qin destroyed the field, Taking .64 seconds off Olympic Champion Dmitry Balandin’s Games record with a massive 2:07.03. He was out pretty fast, splitting 1:00.75 on the opening 100. He fell off the pace just a little bit, splitting 1:06.28 coming home.
After breaking the meet record in the 50 breast prelims on the final day of swimming with a speedy 26.25, just .05 off his Asian Record, Qin was a bit off in the finals. Posting a 26.35, Qin easily won.
2023 World Aquatics World Cup (Multi-stop)
Qin kept up his string of high level performances across the World Cup circuit. Incredibly, Qin swept the 50/100/200 breast across all three stops. His best meet all-around was the first stop in Berlin. He matched his PB in the 100 breast with a 57.69, while nearing his PB in the 50 with a 26.29 and winning the 200 (2:07.45). He was off those times across the board in Athens, winning in 26.52/58.44/2:08.05 but returned to form in Budapest. He was faster than Berlin in the 200 breast, winning in a 2:07.32 while he was a little bit slower in the 50 (26.30) and 100 (57.82).
For his efforts, he won the overall standings. He netted $12,000 for topping the the point leaderboard at each of the stops, netting him $36,000. For sweeping the beast distances across the series, he received $10,000 for each distance, giving him $30,000, and for winning the overall series, he bagged $100,000, bringing his earnings to $166,000. That was 2nd in earnings only to Kaylee McKeown who received the same accolades plus world record bonuses.
