Wu Qingfeng Fires Off 24.02 Lifetime Best In Women’s 50 Free At Chinese Nationals

2026 CHINESE NATIONAL SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, June 16 – Sunday, June 21, 2026
• Hangzhou, China
• LCM (50 meters)
• Live Results
• Daily Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

The 2026 Chinese National Swimming Championships saw day five unfold from Hangzhou, with the country’s top performers putting up their best in the hopes of making the Asian Games squad. The top two finishers in each event qualify, with the nation hoping to once again top the overall swimming medal table against rivals such as Japan and South Korea once that prestigious competition begins in September.

Wu Qingfeng got things started in the women’s 50m freestyle, with the 23-year-old Olympic medalist putting up a new lifetime best on her way to topping the podium.

Wu stopped the clock at a speedy result of 24.02, downing her former PB of 24.18 notched at last year’s Chinese National Championships.

Cheng Yujie settled for silver tonight in 24.39, just off her best-ever outing of 24.23 from last November.

Zhang Yufei, a 6-time medalist from the 2024 Olympic Games, rounded out the podium in 24.50.

As for Wu, her effort now inserts her into the list of all-time Chinese performers in slot #2, sitting only behind national record holder Liu Xiang‘s benchmark of 23.97 from 2021.

Top 5 Chinese Women’s LCM 50 Freestyle Performers All-Time

1. Liu Xiang – 23.97, 2021
2. Wu Qingfeng – 24.02, 2026
3. Zhang Yufei – 24.15, 2023
4. Cheng Yujie – 24.23, 2025
5. Jingyi Le – 24.51, 1994

Wu’s time also surpassed the 24.26 it took her to earn silver at last year’s World Championships, matching the 24.02 mark that Aussie Meg Harris registered as the gold medalist in Singapore.

Wu now ranks 3rd in the world on the season.

23-year-old Wang Changhao kept the momentum rolling, notching a shiny new Chinese national record en route to winning the men’s 50m fly.

Wang, a 2024 Olympic Games medalist in the men’s 4x100m medley relay, posted a rapid time of 23.21 to claim the gold. That erased his own former CHN national standard of 23.25 established at the 2023 Chinese Spring Championships.

Xu Fang, the man who scored a new national record last night in the 100m fly, secured silver in 23.42. The current Chinese national record holder in the 200m fly, Chen Juner, bagged the bronze in 23.63.

Wang’s new 23.21 mark ranks him just outside the list of the top 25 performers in the world this season, although he’s now the 7th-best Asian performer of all time.

Top 10 Asian Men’s LCM 50 Butterfly Performers All-Time

1. Joseph Schooling (SGP) – 22.93, 2017
2. Tzen Wei Teong (SGP) – 23.03, 2022
3. Shoon Mitsunuga (JPN) – 23.06, 2026 & Taikan Tanaka (JPN) – 23.06, 2026
4. –
5. Takeshi Kawamoto (JPN) – 23.13, 2023
6. Yuya Tanaka (JPN) – 23.19, 2022
7. Wang Changhao (CHN) – 23.21, 2026
8. Tomonobu Gomi (JPN) – 23.22, 2026 & Kota Ichikawa (JPN) – 23.22, 2026
9. –
10. Inchul Baek (KOR) – 23.24, 2024

Fei Liwei got it done for gold in the men’s 800m free, turning in a time of 7:47.29 as the sole performer to dip under the 7:50 threshold.

23-year-old Fei was the clear victor, with Li Chengyu notching 7:55.95 for silver and Zhang Zhongxin also well behind in 7:56.33.

Fei’s time tonight was just slightly off his best-ever performance, a time of 7:47.11 nabbed in the prelims of the event at the 2024 Olympic Games, which rendered him the 10th place finisher there in Paris.

Fei now ranks 10th in the world this season.

Of note, Olympic champion Sun Yang settled for a 10th place finish in the 8free tonight, hitting 8:06.76. Additionally, World Junior record holder Zhang Zhanshuo scratched the event, although he’s already put up a head-turning effort of 7:44.45 at the China Open in March to rank 5th in the world right now.

Additional Notes

• The women’s 200m breaststroke was on the subdued side, with the top performer, Zhu Leiju, clocking 2:25.11 as the gold medalist. Hu Qinhao delivered a time of 2:26.23 for silver, with Lu Qinyao rounding out the podium in 2:26.60.
• The men’s 200m breaststroke was also without fireworks, as only one competitor cleared the 2:10 barrier. Hong Kong’s Adam Mak scored a new national record en route to gold, hitting 2:09.33 as the winner. That outperformed his own previous HKG standard of 2:09.93 logged at the 2025 Hong Kong National Games. Look for a follow-up post on his record-setting outing.
• World record holder Pan Zhanle dove in for his squad’s 4x100m free relay, leading off in a time of 48.14. Sun was the 2nd leg, posting 49.10 for his part.
• 13-year-old Yu Zidi turned in a mark of 1:55.74 as the anchor on her team’s 4x200m free relay. Other notable splits included Yu Yiting leading off in 1:56.33 and Li Bingjie leading off in 1:56.16 on her relay squad.