Li Bingjie Breaks Asian Record, Joins Exclusive Club in 400 Freestyle at Chinese Nationals; Pan Zhanle Shows Range
The first night of finals at the Chinese National Championships featured immediate fireworks when distance star Li Bingjie joined an exclusive club. The veteran became the sixth woman in history to produce a sub-4:00 performance in the 400-meter freestyle, accomplishing the feat with a mark of 3:59.99. The effort thrust Li into a group that includes Ariarne Titmus, Summer McIntosh, Katie Ledecky, Erika Fairweather and Federica Pellegrini.
With a personal best of 4:01.08 heading into the meet, Li established an Asian record while leading a strong field to the wall. She was followed in second place by Yang Peiqi, who was timed in 4:02.53. Third place went to Liu Yaxin (4:02.57). Li was the bronze medalist in the 400 freestyle at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, and her sub-4:00 ability will have her in medal contention at this summer’s World Championships in Singapore.
On the men’s side, the 400 freestyle saw Pan Zhanle put his range on display. The reigning Olympic champion and world-record holder in the 100 freestyle, Pan claimed a narrow victory over eight laps, thanks to a time of 3:45.34. That effort allowed Pan to clip Fi Liwei, who touched the wall in 3:45.57. Finishing third in 3:47.53 was Sun Yang, the former Olympic champion who has returned to competition after serving a four-year doping ban.
Beyond the 400 freestyles, plenty of semifinal action set the stage for Sunday’s evening session. Qin Haiyang secured the top seed in the men’s 100 breaststroke with a mark of 58.77, which was a half-second clear of the 59.27 by Dong Zhihao. Meanwhile, Yu Yiting had the fastest time in the semifinals of the women’s 100 butterfly, where she went 57.57. She was followed in 57.94 by Zhang Yufei, the multi-time Olympci medalist who was bronze in this event last summer in Paris and silver in Tokyo three years earlier. Yu also earned the top seed for the final of the 200 individual medley, on the strength of a 2:10.56 swim. Entering the final as the second seed is Ye Shiwen, the 2012 Olympic champion. Ye qualified in 2:11.92.
Xu Fang’s 23.59 in the men’s 50 butterfly carried him to the top seed for the final in that event.
Thanks to the X account, Chinese Swimming News and Results (@CHNswim_fan), for its coverage of the competition.
