Zhang Yufei is a competitive swimmer who represents China internationally. She is a 2x 2021 Olympic champion and 3x Asian Champion.
International Career
2014 Asian Games/Youth Olympics
Zhang had a breakout 2014, starting by helping China to gold in the 4×100 free relay at the Asian Games. She then went to the Youth Olympics, where she helped China to 3 golds in the 4×100 free, medley, and mixed medley relays, as well as earning individual silvers in the 100 and 200 fly.
2015 World Championships
In Kazan, Zhang earned her first world medals, taking bronze in both the 200 fly and as a part of the 4×200 free relay.
2018 Asian Games
At her 2nd Asian Games, Zhang improved on her medal haul, taking gold in the 200 fly and the mixed 4×100 medley relay as well as silver in the 100 fly.
2020 Olympic Games
After moving through prelims and semi-finals being seeded first, Zhang Yufei swam her best time yet in the 100 fly final on night 2, touching at 55.64, just .05 behind Maggie MacNeil to earn silver.
Zhang was back in the 200 fly, moving easily through prelims and semis to take the top seed headed into the final. In the final, Zhang was out like a shot, touching at 26.9 at the 50 and 58.2 in at the 100. She didn’t slow down, maintaining her large lead from start to finish to touch at 2:03.86 for a new Olympic record and her first Olympic gold.
Just an hour after her historic 200 fly, Zhang was back in the pool with China, splitting 1:55.66 on the 3rd leg of their 800 free relay to help them win gold in a new world record, 7:40.33.
2022 World Championships
Zhang started her worlds off strong, winning bronze medal in the 100 fly on night 2. She clocked a 56.41 to finish 3rd behind Torri Huske and Marie Wattel.
In the 200 fly, Zhang was out fast in the semi-final and faded toward the end of the race but held on to qualify for the final. In the final, she had a similar strategy but held off most of the field this time, clocking a 2:06.32 to earn bronze.
Zhang won her 3rd bronze medal of the championships on night 7 in the 50 fly, clocking a new Asian record of 25.32. Later in that same session, Zhang swam the semis of the 50 free, tieing for 5th place and advancing to the final.
2023 World Aquatics Championships (Fukuoka, Japan)
In the 100 fly, Zhang led the field through both the heats (56.89, only sub-57 second swim) and the semifinals (56.40). In the final, she was also first to the turn, splitting 26.03 on the opening 50 meters. Zhang powered home with the fastest split in the field after Maggie Mac Neil got a great turn for her first world title in 56.12.
After the 100 fly semi on night 1, Zhang anchored the Chinese 400 free relay with a solid 52.84 as they broke the Asian Record and took 3rd. She dropped the 200 fly to focus on the mixed 400 medley relay and it paid off. Zhang split a super 55.69 fly split to widen the Chinese lead and help them earn Gold.
Zhang cruised through the 50 free heats with a 24.44 in 4th. In semis, she improved to a 24.20 for 3rd. Zhang was even better in the final with a 24.15 to net bronze behind Shayna Jack (24.25) and Sarah Sjostrom (23.62). Just before the 50 free semi, Zhang had a big 25.05 for silver in the 50 fly. That 25.05 set a new Asian record in the process and made her the #2 performer all-time. She had entered the top 5 list in semis with a 25.17.
Zhang wrapped her meet with the 400 medley relay. She crushed a field leading split of 55.50 on fly as the team took 4th.
