Yiting Sets 200 IM World Junior Record Twice in Two Days at Chinese OLY Trials

CHINESE OLYMPIC TRIALS #1

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

KayleeAUS
McKeown
06/14
2:08.19
2Madisyn
Cox
USA2:08.5105/22
3Yui
Ohashi
JPN2:08.5207/28
4Alex
Walsh
USA2:08.6507/28
5Kate
Douglass
USA2:09.0407/28
6Abbie
Wood
GBR2:09.1507/28
7Sydney
Pickrem
CAN2:09.2406/21
8Miho
Teramura
JPN2:09.5504/06
9Yu
Yiting
CHN2:09.5705/04
10Alicia
Wilson
GBR2:09.6104/17
View Top 26»

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)
  1. He Junyi – 49.12
  2. Pan Zhanle – 49.51
  3. Huang Junyi – 49.53

Women’s 200 Freestyle – Final

  • Fina ‘A’ cut: 1:57.28
  • Chinese National Record: 1:54.70* – Yang Junxuan (2021)
  1. Yang Junxuan – 1:54.57*
  2. Li Bingjie – 1:56.64
  3. 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)
  1.  Chen Juner – 1:56.77
  2. Wang Yifei – 1:57.38
  3. 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)
  1. Zhang Yufei – 2:06.31
  2. Yu Liyan – 2:08.55
  3. 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)
  1. Yan Zibei – 2:12.44
  2. Shen Hao – 2:13.96
  3. Yu Zongda – 2:13.99

Women’s 200 Individual Medley – Final

  • Fina ‘A’ cut: 2:12.56
  • Chinese National Record: 2:07.57 – Ye Shiwen (2012)
  1. Yu Yiting – 2:09.64
  2. Chen Xinyi – 2:11.58
  3. 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)
  1. Wang Jianjiahe – 15:49.07
  2. Li Bingjie – 15:58.35
  3. Hou Yawen – 16:12.06

 

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Andy
2 years ago

An eye popping typo in main text– you have Wang’s time as 14:49 vs 15:49.

Swimfan
2 years ago

YANG JUNXUAN In the 200 free tho 😱

Austinpoolboy
2 years ago

That Liu Zige 2:01.8 200fly supersuit record. Still mind blowing

Yozhik
Reply to  Austinpoolboy
2 years ago

Probably will be the last one to go. If ever.

HJones
Reply to  Yozhik
2 years ago

Either this one, the men’s 800 free record, or the men’s 200 free record.

Mr Piano
Reply to  Austinpoolboy
2 years ago

Yeah, drops 2.5 seconds from her 2009 worlds time which was her PB… all in just a few months.

Smith-King-Dahlia-Manuel
Reply to  Mr Piano
2 years ago

Uzbekistan timing at its finest.

Pacific Whirl
2 years ago

Li doubles. Wang swims only 1500.

Last edited 2 years ago by Pacific Whirl
Yozhik
Reply to  Pacific Whirl
2 years ago

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.

Yozhik
2 years ago

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.

DCSwim
Reply to  Yozhik
2 years ago

As one man said “It’s better to burn out than to fade away.”

Corn Pop
Reply to  DCSwim
2 years ago

You can also retire earlier .

Smith-King-Dahlia-Manuel
Reply to  Corn Pop
2 years ago

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)

Finn
Reply to  Yozhik
2 years ago

A bronze in the 400m is certainly possible.

Yozhik
Reply to  Finn
2 years ago

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.

Smith-King-Dahlia-Manuel
Reply to  Finn
2 years ago

I will give credit to Leah Smith for consistency in the women’s 400 meter freestyle:

2016 – Bronze
2017 – Silver
2018 – Bronze
2019 – Bronze

Yozhik
2 years ago

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.

About Annika Johnson

Annika Johnson

Annika came into the sport competitively at age eight, following in the footsteps of her twin sister and older brother. The sibling rivalry was further fueled when all three began focusing on distance freestyle, forcing the family to buy two lap counters. Annika is a three-time Futures finalist in the 200 …

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