2020 FINA Champions Series – Beijing
- January 18th-19th
- Beijing, China
- 50m (LCM)
- Meet Info
- Results (Shenzhen)
- Results (Beijing)
After tying her own Asian Record at the first FINA Champions Series meet in Shenzhen, China’s Liu Xiang has now downed the previous mark of 24.04 by the finest of margins, touching in 24.03. This new time was set at the second Champions Series meet in Beijing, just four days after she raced the event in Shenzhen.
She overcame a stacked field for the second time to take the win, defeating Ranomi Kromowidjojo (24.38) and Femke Heemskerk (24.79) of the Netherlands and Michelle Coleman (24.84) of Sweden.
Liu, 23, first set her record time of 24.04 at the 2017 Chinese National Games in Tianjin. She now moves into 11th position in the list of all time fastest swims in this event.
Liu set her first world record in the 50m backstroke in 2018, making history be becoming the first woman to go under 27 seconds. The previous world record had been held by her countrymate Zhao Jing for nine years and stood at 27.06.
She took 0.42 off her personal best from earlier in the year to break the world record, and had only one previous world championship medal to her name after she won bronze in the 50m backstroke at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, Russia.
