Tang Qianting: Striving to Close in on the World Record—Fearless and Unstoppable

•4 min read
Tang Qianting: Striving to Close in on the World Record—Fearless and Unstoppable

“2024 ends perfectly—see you next year!” On December 16, Tang Qianting shared a set of photos and captions from her participation in the Budapest Short Course Swimming World Championships on her personal social media.

This season, Tang Qianting has delivered outstanding performances, breaking her own Asian records in both the women’s 100m and 50m breaststroke events. She claimed the gold medal in the women’s 100m breaststroke at this year’s World Championships in Doha and went on to win a valuable silver medal at the Paris Olympics. Following the Games, Tang continued to showcase her exceptional form across three stops of this year’s Short Course Swimming World Cup, remaining undefeated in the women’s 100m breaststroke. At the Shanghai leg of the series, she even shattered the Asian record in the event, clocking an impressive time of 1:02.53.
“Finishing second didn’t disappoint me—it didn’t even knock me down. In a way, it was actually a gain, motivating me to work even harder toward my goals,” said Tang Qianting after securing the silver medal at the Paris Olympics. “Over the past month, I’ve competed in three World Cup events back-to-back, facing an incredibly demanding schedule. But I’m determined to showcase my absolute best performance.”

At the Budapest Short Course Swimming World Championships, Tang Qianting's time in the women's 100m breaststroke semifinal was just 0.01 second shy of the world record. "It was really only a tiny gap—when I touched the wall, seeing the result still felt a bit surprising. My performance in the heats wasn’t ideal, so in the semis, I tried my best to push myself and managed to deliver a strong swim."

"After breaking the Asian record at the Shanghai stop, I said I hoped to challenge the world record in the upcoming competitions," said Tang Qianting. She added that she hadn’t performed well in the short-course World Cups held in Incheon and Singapore, feeling somewhat fatigued. Now, at the Budapest Short Course World Championships, her only goal is to swim without fear and achieve her personal best.

In the end, Tang Qianting clinched victory in the women’s 100m breaststroke final with a time of 1:02.38, just 0.02 seconds shy of the world record. Reflecting on her performance, Tang Qianting calmly remarked, "It wasn’t by much—still, it was a valuable learning experience for me. I’m looking forward to significantly improving both my personal best and the world record in the next short-course competition."

Afterward, Tang Qianting clinched the silver medal in the women’s 50m breaststroke final with a time of 28.86 seconds, as Lithuanian athlete Meilutytė claimed the gold. In the women’s 4x100m medley relay, Tang Qianting, along with teammates Qian Xin'an, Chen Luying, and Liu Shuhan, helped the Chinese team secure a bronze medal, finishing in 3 minutes 47.93 seconds. On December 16, Beijing time, Tang Qianting concluded her performances at the Budapest Short Course World Championships, leaving the meet with a total of one gold, one silver, and one bronze medal.

"After the competition, I’m definitely feeling exhausted," said Tang Qianting. She’ll soon be diving straight into winter training, aiming to perform even better at next year’s World Championships in Singapore. With the rigorous preparation of winter training under her belt, she’s hopeful that she’ll also achieve a breakthrough in the 200-meter breaststroke down the line. (Reported on December 17 in Page 01 of China Sports Daily.)

Image from Tang Qianting's Weibo

Recommended:
2024 Short Course World Championships Day 6 Recap: Qin Haiyang Claims Gold, China Ranks 4th on the Medal Table with 3 Golds
2024 Annual Ranking of Top 20 Swimmers by Earnings: Four Chinese Swimmers Make the List

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