2024 Short Course World Championships Day 6 Recap: Qin Haiyang Claims Gold, China Ranks 4th on the Medal Table with 3 Golds

On December 16, Beijing time, the final day of the 2024 World Aquatics Swimming Championships (short course) in Budapest unfolded. On this day, Qin Haiyang clinched the gold medal in the men’s 50-meter breaststroke final, while Tang Qian Ting secured a silver in the women’s 50-meter breaststroke. Additionally, the Chinese team earned a bronze in the women’s 4×100-meter medley relay. In the end, China concluded its short-course World Championships campaign with an impressive tally of 3 golds, 1 silver, and 1 bronze, finishing fourth on the medal table.

Men's 50m Breaststroke — Qian Haiyang Snatches Gold with a Last-Minute Comeback

The men's 50m breaststroke final featured a star-studded lineup, with locked in a thrilling battle until the very end against world record holder Sakshi and Russian legend Prigoda. Despite trailing in second place during the final 5 meters, showcased his exceptional turn technique to clinch the gold medal with a time of 25.42 seconds—just 0.14 seconds ahead of Sakshi and Prigoda.

Women's 50m breaststroke — Tang Qianting wins silver with a time of 28.86 seconds

Tang Qianting, who narrowly missed matching Melutite's world record twice in the 100-meter breaststroke, finally got her chance for a head-to-head showdown against Melutite in the 50-meter breaststroke. From the very start, Melutite took the lead, but Tang Qianting stayed close behind, relentlessly closing the gap. In the end, Tang clinched the silver medal with a time of 28.86 seconds, finishing 0.32 seconds behind Melutite.

Women's 4x100m medley relay — China wins bronze, while the U.S. team breaks the world record.

In the women's 4x100m medley relay final, the Chinese team fielded a lineup of Qian Xin'an, Tang Qianting, Chen Luying, and Liu Shuhan. The four Chinese swimmers clinched the bronze medal with a time of 3:47.93, while the U.S. team claimed gold by breaking the world record with a stunning 3:40.41. Great Britain finished second.

By now, the medal standings for this year's World Championships have been officially set—Team USA tops the leaderboard with 18 gold, 13 silver, and 8 bronze medals, while Russian athletes competing under a neutral flag claim second place with 6 gold and 4 silver medals. Canada rounds out the top three with 4 gold, 5 silver, and 6 bronze medals.

American athlete Walsh, a multiple world-record breaker, and Switzerland’s three-time gold medalist Ponti were named Best Athletes, while the U.S. team, with an impressive 18 gold medals to their name, was crowned Best Team.

Canada’s Marie Sophie Harvey and Spain’s Carles Coll Martí have been awarded the UPCX Breakthrough Athlete Award. The honor was decided directly by a fan vote. Coll Martí clinched the gold medal in the men’s 200m breaststroke final with a time of 2:01.55, securing Spain’s first-ever medal at a global swimming championships in over a decade. For Harvey, her breakthrough wasn’t about winning gold—but rather her unwavering determination to keep competing and ultimately make it to the finals stage. Harvey accepted the award on Sunday evening before going on to claim the silver medal in the women’s 200m freestyle, marking her best individual performance yet at the World Championships.

Notably, Hong Kong's renowned athlete Siobhan Haughey secured her third consecutive victory in the women's 200m freestyle, clocking a time of 1 minute 50.62 seconds.

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2024 Short Course World Championships Day 6 Recap: Qin Haiyang Claims Gold, China Ranks 4th on the Medal Table with 3 Golds

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