2024 Short Course World Championships Day 3 Recap: Tang Qianting Claims China's First Gold, Qin Haiyang Breaks Asian Record to Win the Title

In the early hours of December 13, the 2024 World Aquatics Short Course Championships continued in Budapest. On this competition day, a total of 8 gold medals were awarded, with China claiming 2 of them: Qin Haiyang won gold in the men’s 100m breaststroke, while Tang Qian Ting secured victory in the women’s 100m breaststroke. Notably, Qin Haiyang’s winning time not only shattered both the World Championships and Asian records, but Tang Qian Ting also came within just 0.02 seconds of the world record.

In the semifinal, Tang Qianting swam a time of 1:02.37, falling just 0.01 second short of the world record. But in the final, Tang Qianting made a stunning comeback, leading from start to finish and holding on until the very end—narrowly missing the world record again at the last moment. Ultimately, she clinched the gold with a time of 1:02.38, once more coming agonizingly close to the world record after her impressive performance in the semifinals.

In the men's 100-meter breaststroke final, Qin Haiyang, who was in third place after the first 75 meters, clinched the gold medal with an impressive final sprint and a remarkable touch at the wall, clocking a time of 55.47 seconds. This performance not only shattered the short-course World Championship record for the event but also broke his own Asian record.

Here are the results for the first, second, and third places in the other projects:

Women's 100m Freestyle – Walsh: 50.31 (World Championship record), Gastaldello: 50.64, Kate-Douglas: 50.73

Men's 100m Freestyle – Jack-Alexis: 45.38, Guilherme Santos: 45.47, Jordan Crooks: 45.48

Women's 200m Butterfly — McIntosh: 1:59.32 (World Record), Regan-Smith: 2:01.00, Deakins: 2:02.91

Men's 200m Butterfly: Harun clocks 1:48.24 (tied the World Championship record), Lazzati posts 1:48.64 (European record), and Zimilewski finishes in 1:49.26.

Men's 400m Freestyle — Winton: 3:35.89, Foster: 3:36.31 (tie), Kieran-Smith: 3:36.31 (tie)

Women's 4x200m Freestyle Relay — USA: 7:30.13 (World Record), Hungary: 7:33.37, Australia: 7:33.60