The 2013 Chinese spring National Championships, a selection meet for the Chinese National Games later this year and a factor in the selection of the World Championship team, rolled into day 3 on Wednesday.
There, Olympic hero Sun Yang took his second event victory: this one coming in a 1:44.99 in the 200 long course meters freestyle. That’s easily the world-leader in 2013.
This Chinese relay earned a bronze medal at last year’s Olympic Games, and they could be shooting for the French and Americans after the results of this relay. Though the overall depth in the final wasn’t great (Hao Yun took 3rd in just a 1:48.43), Wang Shun did come in 2nd in 1:46.60. He wasn’t on that Olympic relay last year, but his addition should bump knock another second off of the Chinese time. If Sun has a better swim at Worlds this summer on the relay than he did last year in London (split 1:45.55), then China could approach the 7:02-7:03 range that it will take for silver.
Sun Ye took the women’s 100 breaststroke title in 1:07.90. That’s actually slower than Liu Xiaoyu’s 1:07.60 from the semi-finals, but placed Ye ahead of a second-place tie between Shi Jinglin and He Yuzhe. All of those times rank in the top 10 in the world this year. This breaststroke group was pretty disappointing at the BHP Billiton Aquatic Super Series in January, where they were smoked by the Australians, but seem to have gotten on their mark in time for this National Championship meet.
Olympic finalist Fu Yuanhui, who just turned 17 earlier this year, became just the 4th swimmer in the world this year to break a minute in the women’s long course 100 backstroke. She swam a 59.56 for the win: faster than she was in London. Zhao Jing, the National Record holder and also an Olympic finalist, wasn’t on top form finishing 2nd in 1:00.28, and Wang Xueer was 3rd in 1:00.37.
He Jianbing won the men’s race in 53.97: also beating the national record holder Cheng Feiyi who was 2nd in 54.06. Xu Jiayu was 3rd in 54.17. The Chinese are getting more-and-more options in this backstroke group as depth improves; this isn’t the leg that kept them from being finalists at the Olympics in the 400 medley relay. If they want to contend with the world’s best, they really need to see big improvements on their breaststroke leg, which we’ll see later in this meet.
Closing the finals races, Pang Wenxian won the non-Olympic 1500 free in 16:06.10, followed by Xu Danlu in 16:07.02. Those times rank 2nd-and-3rd in the world, respectively. Wenxian has spent a good chunk of time training in Australia; Danlu is the swimmer who stunned the world late last year when she ranked 6th in the world with an 8:22 in the 800 free. This time in the 1500 doesn’t quite par-up with her shorter 800 swim, but being so young there’s little perspective for how rested or not rested she may be for this meet.
Watch the 800 later in the week to see what she puts up there.
The most notable semi-final was the women’s 200 free, where Qiu Yuhan took the top seed in 1:57.97, followed by a pair of 1:58’s from Shen Duo and Bi Yirong. None of those three were on the Chinese 800 free relay that placed 6th at the Olympics.
Shark SY is unreal！ and sky is his limit!! He could swim close to WR in 200M if not of his 400M close WR challenge on the first day of swimming competition.
Maybe, he would have to get past Agnel though, who is pretty much in a league of his own in that event.
If only he improved his underwater and turns then SY will make breakthrough in 200M WR!