2025 World Junior Swimming Championships
- August 19-24, 2025
- Otopeni, Romania
- LCM (50 meters)
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GIRLS’ 200 FREESTYLE – FINALS
- World Record: 1:52.23 – Ariarne Titmus, AUS (2024)
- World Junior Record: 1:53.65 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2023)
Championship Record: 1:57.08 – Taylor Ruck, CAN (2017)
TOP 8:
- Yang Peiqi (CHN) – 1:56.25 *Championship Record*
- Rylee Erisman (USA) – 1:56.76
- Alessandra Mao (ITA) – 1:57.00
- Kennedi Dobson (USA) – 1:57.45
- Yan Tiaoshan (CHN) – 1:57.88
- Bianca Nannucci (ITA) – 1:59.64
- Yui Fukuoka (JPN) – 1:59.69
- Ella Cosgrove (CAN) – 1:59.94
China’s Yang Peiqi clocked 1:56.25 to win the final individual event of the 2025 World Junior Championships, breaking the Championship Record in the process.
The 18-year-old eclipsed the previous mark of 1:57.08 set by Canadian Taylor Ruck at the 2017 edition of these championships. Yang also undercut her previous personal best of 1:56.59 from the Chinese Nationals in May.
She pulled away to win by just over half a second, with American Rylee Erisman (1:56.76) scorching a 29.17 on the final 50 to move into silver-medal position. Italian 14-year-old Alessandra Mao touched in 1:57.00 for bronze, as both swimmers clocked career bests.
The Chinese freestyle ace’s win marked her fifth gold of the meet, adding to earlier victories in the 400 free (4:05.38), 800 free (8:22.93), 1500 free (16:08.37), and 4×200 free relay. She also helped her country earn silver in the 4×100 medley relay and bronze in the 4×100 free relay.
Yang competed at the World Championships in Singapore last month, where she touched 7th in the 400 free (4:06.47), 8th in the 1500 free (16:04.93), and 9th in the 800 free (8:27.89). She also helped the Chinese quartet to bronze in the 4×200 free relay, splitting 1:55.84 on the second leg.
She has accumulated significant experience on the senior international level, despite being only 18. At the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, she touched 20th in the 800 free (8:37.16) and 4th in the 4×200 free relay, where she only swam in prelims.
At the Asian Games, held less than two months after those Worlds, she nabbed bronze in the 800 free (8:35.47) and gold in the 4×200 free relay.
At the lightly-attended 2024 Doha Worlds, she touched 6th in both the 400 (4:05.73) and 1500 (16:13.08) free and helped China win gold in the 4×200 free relay, anchoring in 1:56.18. She failed to make the grade for the Chinese Olympic team for the Paris Games last summer.
Why is there not a picture of Yang Peiqi?
We don’t have one 🙁
Obvious swimmer of the meet. She won all of China’s gold medals (shared for the 5th with the relay), with the silver and bronze adding her to name to over half of theirs