CHINESE OLYMPIC TRIALS #1
- Friday, April 30th – Saturday, May 8th
- Qingdao, China
- Primary Olympic Qualifier
- LCM (50m)
- Results via Asian Media
- Day 1 Finals Recap
- Day 2 Finals Recap
- Day 3 Finals Recap
One highlight of day four’s finals session was 19-year-old Yang Junxuan breaking her own 200 free Asian Record by .13. Both she and second-place finisher Li Bingjie cracked the FINA ‘A’ cut of 1:57.28 handily.
15-year-old Yu Yiting dominated the women’s 200 IM final, coming into the wall at 2:09.64 and breaking the official World Junior Record twice in two days. During day 3 prelims she posted a 2:09.88 to overtake the previous official WJR set by Japan’s Rikako Ikee at 2:09.98 in 2017.
On day 4, she won the final with a time of 2:09.64. This swim puts Yiting at the top of the fastest women in the event in the world this season:
2020-2021 LCM Women 200 IM
McKeown
2:08.19
| 2 | Madisyn Cox | USA | 2:08.51 | 05/22 |
| 3 | Yui Ohashi | JPN | 2:08.52 | 07/28 |
| 4 | Alex Walsh | USA | 2:08.65 | 07/28 |
| 5 | Kate Douglass | USA | 2:09.04 | 07/28 |
| 6 | Abbie Wood | GBR | 2:09.15 | 07/28 |
| 7 | Sydney Pickrem | CAN | 2:09.24 | 06/21 |
| 8 | Miho Teramura | JPN | 2:09.55 | 04/06 |
| 9 | Yu Yiting | CHN | 2:09.57 | 05/04 |
| 10 | Alicia Wilson | GBR | 2:09.61 | 04/17 |
In the finals race, Yiting finished with nearly a 2 second lead over second-place finisher Chen Xinyi who also beat the FINA ‘A” cut. Yiting has already qualified for China’s Olympic roster the 400 IM. 2012 Olympic gold medalist Ye Shiwen finished in 3rd place.
In the women’s 1500 free final, Wang Jianjiahe came within 4 seconds of her own Chinese National Record from 2020. She finished with a time of 15:49.07.
Both Jianjiahe and Bingjie, who had a 200 free / 1500 double during the session and placed 2nd, beat the FINA ‘A’ cut. Bingjie touched the wall with a time of 15:58.35, earning a spot on China’s Olympic roster in her third event so far. She earned a spot on China’s Olympic roster already in the 400 free.
Bingjie came within about 6 seconds of her recent lifetime best 1500 free from January.
No one was able to crack the FINA ‘A’ cut in the men’s 200 fly final, although Chen Juner came the closest. Juner touched the wall in 1st place with a time of 1:56.77, within .30 of the qualifying FINA ‘A’ cut.
It’s important to note that this is the first of two Olympic qualifying meets for China, with the second Trials meet scheduled for May 31st – June 1st. So for events like the men’s 200 butterfly, swimmers will have another chance to get under that FINA ‘A’ cut and nab a spot on China’s Olympic roster.
Top 3 Finishers in Each Event
Men’s 100 Freestyle – Semifinal
- Fina ‘A’ cut: 48.57
- Chinese National Record: 47.65 – Ning Zetao (2014)
- He Junyi – 49.12
- Pan Zhanle – 49.51
- Huang Junyi – 49.53
Women’s 200 Freestyle – Final
- Fina ‘A’ cut: 1:57.28
- Chinese National Record: 1:54.70* – Yang Junxuan (2021)
- Yang Junxuan – 1:54.57*
- Li Bingjie – 1:56.64
- Tang Muhan – 1:57.83
Men’s 200 Butterfly – Final
- Fina ‘A’ cut: 1:56.48
- Chinese National Record: 1:54.35 – Wu Peng (2008)
- Chen Juner – 1:56.77
- Wang Yifei – 1:57.38
- Yu Yingbiao – 1:57.42
Women’s 200 Butterfly – Semifinal
- Fina ‘A’ cut: 2:08.43
- Chinese National Record: 2:01.81 – Liu Zige (2009)
- Zhang Yufei – 2:06.31
- Yu Liyan – 2:08.55
- Zhu Jiaming – 2:09.75
Men’s 200 Breaststroke – Semifinal
- Fina ‘A’ cut: 2:10.35
- Chinese National Record: 2:07.35 – Qin Haiyang (2017)
Women’s 200 Individual Medley – Final
- Fina ‘A’ cut: 2:12.56
- Chinese National Record: 2:07.57 – Ye Shiwen (2012)
- Yu Yiting – 2:09.64
- Chen Xinyi – 2:11.58
- Ye Shiwen – 2:12.57
Women’s 1500 Freestyle – Final
- Fina ‘A’ cut: 16:32.04
- Chinese National Record: 15:45.59 – Wang Jianjiahe (2020)
- Wang Jianjiahe – 15:49.07
- Li Bingjie – 15:58.35
- Hou Yawen – 16:12.06
An eye popping typo in main text– you have Wang’s time as 14:49 vs 15:49.
YANG JUNXUAN In the 200 free tho 😱
That Liu Zige 2:01.8 200fly supersuit record. Still mind blowing
Probably will be the last one to go. If ever.
Either this one, the men’s 800 free record, or the men’s 200 free record.
Yeah, drops 2.5 seconds from her 2009 worlds time which was her PB… all in just a few months.
Uzbekistan timing at its finest.
Li doubles. Wang swims only 1500.
Same thing will happen in Tokyo. It maybe a smart move by Wang not to bother herself neither with 400 nor with 200 events before her main chance for success 1500 race.
Li Bingjie who was called female Sun Yang by Chinese media in 2017 will have most likely no medals at all in Tokyo. So much has changed in swimming competition since 2017 season when she was considered the main Ledecky’s opponent in the current Olympic cycle. Let’s see in a few days if she is still a contender for the podium in 800FR event.
As one man said “It’s better to burn out than to fade away.”
You can also retire earlier .
Or you can go out in style. Rebecca Soni’s last three races at the 2012 Summer Olympics:
World Record (200 Breaststroke)
World Record (200 Breaststroke)
World Record (4 x 100 medley relay)
A bronze in the 400m is certainly possible.
The fight for the bronze medal can be even hotter than the one for the gold. I can name at least 4 swimmers whose chances for the bronze medal in 400 are not lesser than Li’s one. I didn’t tell that probability of Li getting some medal in Tokyo is zero, but it is not high in my opinion.
I will give credit to Leah Smith for consistency in the women’s 400 meter freestyle:
2016 – Bronze
2017 – Silver
2018 – Bronze
2019 – Bronze
Wang showed her third ever best and fourth under 15:50 result. Looks like a very solid contender for the podium in this event in Tokyo. Under 15:40 is probably a reachable target in Olympic final.