政府新闻
中国游泳运动员在上海国际泳联游泳世界杯上表现出自信和成熟 2024-10-20
With Tang Qianting winning the women's 50-meter breaststroke final with a new Asian record, Chinese swimmers pocketed a total of six gold medals, 11 silvers and seven bronzes during the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup, which dropped curtain in Shanghai on Sunday evening.
Held in a short-course format, the three-day event gathered 200 international swimmers at Pudong's Oriental Sports Center, including 19 Olympic champions.
The three-day short-course World Aquatics Swimming World Cup brought together 200 international swimmers in Shanghai.
For most of the participants, it was their first major international competition after the Paris Olympics.
While some swimmers signed up for their main events to test their recovery, many opted for secondary events to reduce the pressure that comes with participating. For the audiences, it was already satisfying to see the Chinese national team swimmers competing at home.
The Paris Games had already further boosted the Chinese swimming team's popularity. What was gratifying about their performance in Shanghai was that in addition to the high competitive level, the swimmers also showed a confident and relaxed mental outlook.
Tang Qianting takes questions after winning the women's 50m breaststroke final on Sunday.
In addition to good results, they also seem to be pursuing a broader life and a better attitude toward it.
Xu Jiayu has taken part in three Olympic Games and won two backstroke silver medals. After finishing third in the men's 50m backstroke on Saturday, Xu said it was a fair result.
"A gold medal is always the highest pursuit for an athlete," he explained. "My coach and I will make plans for the new season according to my body condition."
Wang Shun (center) and Pan Zhanle enjoy high popularity among swimming fans.
Xu said he took a break after the Paris Olympics, traveled a bit and saw a desert for the first time.
"Training used to be the only theme of my life. But now, I want to seek a more balanced life, like most ordinary people. Reaching out more to the outside world, I think, will benefit me both physically and mentally," he added.
For Pan Zhanle, courage and self-awareness are more important than results. Pan lost to Italy's Thomas Ceccon by 0.03 seconds in the final of the men's 100-meter freestyle, settling for silver.
Swimming fans in the stands show their support for their favorite stars.
"I don't really consider it a pity, because nobody is perfect and no one can win each competition," Pan pointed out. "Life can't be perfect either, and these imperfections make competitive sports worth looking forward to."
"Aerobics is my advantage. At the same time, I need to improve my starting and turning skills," he added. "Failure is not scary. What is terrible is not having the courage to start over again."
French Olympic champion Leon Marchand interacts with fans.
The three-day event also created a handful of new records, including one world record by Swiss swimmer Noe Ponti in the men's 50m butterfly (21.67 seconds), and a new world junior record by China's Chen Luying in the women's 200m butterfly (2 minutes, 02.71 seconds).
After the Shanghai leg, Shanghai swimmer Qin Haiyang places third in the men's SWC 2024 Rankings, behind French Olympic champion Leon Marchand and Ponti.
The top three ranked women swimmers are Americans Kate Douglass and Regan Smith, followed by Siobhan Bernadette Haughey representing China's Hong Kong.
The World Cup will now go to South Korea and Singapore. The three Asian stops serve as qualifiers for the World Short Course Swimming Championships in Hungary's capital Budapest in December.
The top three ranked men and women swimmers after the Shanghai leg.
Source: Shanghai Daily
