On May 20, the 2025 National Swimming Championships entered its fourth day of competition, featuring finals in five events.
In the men's 800m freestyle final, Shandong swimmer Zhang Zhanshuo claimed victory with a time of 7:49.71, while Fei Liwei finished second in 7:53.59, and Liu Peixin took third place at 7:53.90. The Singapore World Championships A-standard for the men's 800m freestyle is 7:48.66, meaning Zhang Zhanshuo was just 1.05 seconds off the World Championships A-standard—and 5.59 seconds behind Sun Yang's meet record of 7:44.12.In the women's 200m freestyle final, Li Bingjie swam a personal best of 1:55.52 to claim the gold medal, securing her third gold after winning the women's 400m and 1500m freestyle events. Liu Yaxin finished second with a time of 1:55.96, while Yang Peiqi took home the bronze medal in 1:56.59. The event's World Championships A-standard was 1:58.23, and all three athletes met the A-standard requirement.
Yang Junxuan, the holder of the meet record (1:54.37), did not compete in this year’s National Championships, while Tang Muhan, who holds the national record (1:54.26), struggled in the semifinals and finished ninth—missing the final by a narrow margin of 0.4 seconds.Li Bingjie in the women's 200m freestyle finalLi Bingjie competed in the event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, finishing 10th in the semifinals with a time of 1:56.56 and narrowly missing out on the final. Yang Junxuan, meanwhile, placed fifth in the Paris Olympics final, clocking in at 1:55.38.The world record for the women's 200m freestyle was set by Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus at the 2024 Australian Olympic Trials, clocking a time of 1:52.23. Meanwhile, the Asian record is held by Hong Kong, China's Siobhan Haughey, who achieved 1:53.92 at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.In the men's 200m butterfly final, Shandong's Xu Fang clinched the gold medal with a time of 1:55.22. Guangdong's Chen Jun'er, the current national record holder (1:54.16), finished second in 1:55.31, while Shandong's Wang Xizhe took third place with a time of 1:55.97. All three swimmers met the World Championships A-standard time of 1:56.51.
In the men's 50m breaststroke final, Qin Haiyang, who set a new meet record of 26.54 seconds in the semifinals, clinched the gold medal with a time of 26.71 seconds. Sun Jiajun took home the silver with 26.98 seconds, while Zheng Yinghao secured bronze in 27.22 seconds. All three swimmers not only claimed their respective medals but also met the World Championships A standard (27.33).The world record for the 50-meter breaststroke is 25.95 seconds, set by British swimmer Adam Peaty at the 2017 Budapest World Championships, while the Asian record stands at 26.20 seconds, achieved by Qin Haiyang at the 2023 Fukuoka World Championships.Qin Haiyang struggled at the 2024 Paris Olympics, with his times in the 100m and 200m breaststroke falling short of expectations. The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will introduce new events: men’s and women’s 50m races in breaststroke, butterfly, and backstroke.
In the mixed 4x100m medley relay final, Zhejiang team fielded a star-studded lineup featuring Xu Jiayu, Ye Shiwen, Yu Yiting, and Pan Zhanle, who clinched the gold medal with a time of 3:44.95. This victory also marked Pan Zhanle's fourth gold medal of the competition. Meanwhile, Hubei Haosa team (led by Peng Xuw ei, Yu Zongda, Sun Jiajun, and Yang Peiqi) secured the silver medal in 3:46.12, while Guangdong team (with Wang Xue'er, Qiu Tian, Chen Jun'er, and Luo Youyang) finished third, clocking 3:46.97.On the same day, the highly anticipated men's 100m freestyle semifinals also took place. Pan Zhanle, the world record holder (46.40), swam a time of 48.77 seconds, finishing first in his heat and securing the third overall spot to advance. He Junyi clocked 48.49 seconds, topping the overall standings to clinch a direct berth in the final, while Liu Wudi placed second overall with a time of 48.55 seconds. The other finalists include Zhao Jiayue, Wang Haoyu, Ji Xinjie, Shen Jiahao, Hong Jinquan, and He Yubo.The schedule for May 21 is as follows:Subscribe to Swimming Magazine today 👇Submissions are welcome! Please send your manuscripts to the editorial office of *Swimming* magazine at: [email protected]
