2025 CHINESE NATIONALS
- Friday, September 5th –
- Chengdu, China
- LCM (50m)
- Results via Asian Media
The 2025 Chinese Nationals kicked off today from Chengdu and already we saw a monster record bite the dust as swimmers vie for slots on the 15th National Games roster.
18-year-old Zhang Zhanshuo powered his way to gold in the men’s 400m freestyle, ripping a new lifetime best of 3:42.99.
The teen’s performance established a new World Junior Record, easily overtaking the 3:44.31 Bulgarian Petar Mitsin put on the books at the 2023 European Junior Championships.
Entering tonight’s finals session, Zhang’s career-swiftest outing rested at the 3:44.82 notched at this year’s World Championships. There in Singapore, Zhang ultimately placed 5th.
Splits for Zhang’s race this evening included: 25.32/27.59/28.12/28.79/28.69/28.82/28.24/27.42.
Liu Peixin settled for silver well behind in 3:49.44 while Li Chengyu bagged the bronze in 3:51.52.
Zhang is now China’s 3rd-best performer in history as well as the 17th-quickest swimmer worldwide.
Top 5 Chinese Men’s LCM 400 Free Performers All-Time
- Sun Yang – 3:40.14, 2012
- Zhang Lin – 3:41.35, 2009
- Zhang Zhanshuo – 3:42.99
- Fei Liwei – 3:44.24, 2024
- Hao Yun Jun – 3:44.87, 2013
This caliber of performance is par for the course for rising Zhang. At the 2023 World Championships, he became the fastest-ever 16-year-old 400m IM performer (4:12.44) before Japan’s Raito Numata overtook the crown (4:12.10) earlier this year.
At the 2024 World Championships, he helped China take gold in both the men’s 4x100m free and 4x200m free relays before also reaping silver on the men’s 4x200m free relay in Singapore.
China will win everything in LA.
30
His anchoring 4×200 was stunning.
He’s one of a line of Chinese swimmers who came down from 800-1500 early in their career (building great aerobic base) to 200-400 (and even 100 as in the case of Pan Zhanle)
M400 is incredibly competitive after decades.
29 strokes per lap. 32 or so on last one. Lot more stroke room to play with.
Just recognize Thorpe’s record already! How could WA formally Fina, recognize 3.40.14 as WR back then, and not recognize it as the official WJR now? Make it make sense! If a time was recognize has a former WR it should be to as WJR today even do it only started tracking the WJR’s in 2014. It’s just ridiculous at this point and a total disrespect to those legendary Thorped swims. And if it’s because of the suits he wore, than recognize the 3.41 he did as 16 year old in BRIEFS!
Phelps also still holds a WJR given his 1:55.84 200IM at the 2003 Barcelona world champs. I wish WA would recognize older times as WJR if they meet the criteria
Any former WR that met the WR ratification criteria should have been the WJR when they started to keep WJR. Thorpe should have the 400 WJR.
Zhang 1.44.20 split in 4*200 freestyle in Singapore.
that 0.99 is epic Just looks so different than a 43.00
1. Funny, we share the same birthday, just a couple decades apart.
2. Let’s see what Luka Mijatovic can do over the next couple years. Looks like Zhang was a 3:45.11 at 16.