Latest news with #QinHaiyang
South China Morning Post
15-05-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Pan Zhanle set for Sun Yang showdown as China's Olympic swimming stars head to Shenzhen
A clash of generational leading lights is on the cards when the Chinese National Swimming Championships begin in Shenzhen this weekend, with Pan Zhanle on course to race against Sun Yang. Advertisement Present-day golden boy Pan is poised for his first competition of the year as he aims to follow his show-stealing feats at last year's Paris Olympics. Sun, who made a similar splash when blazing a trail for China at the London 2012 Games, will continue his bid for rehabilitation after serving a ban for anti-doping rule violations. The week-long championships, the country's premier meet, could provide the first meeting in the pool between the veteran three-time Olympic gold medallist and Pan, who has been striving to surpass him since childhood. Asked at the age of 10 about his future goals, Pan, now 20, had said swimming 'faster than Sun Yang is good enough'. Other star names heading to Shenzhen include Zhang Yufei, Qin Haiyang, Tang Qianting and Yu Yiting, for what will be China's sole selection event for the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore in July and August. Races get under way on Saturday. Sun Yang has entered four freestyle events at the Shenzhen meet. Photo: Xinhua Pan is set to be centre of attention after his exploits in Paris. Having already claimed gold in the 100 metres freestyle in a world-record time, he stunned the world again in the men's 4x100m medley relay, producing a remarkable final leg to haul China from third to first and end the United States' decades-long dominance of the discipline. Advertisement He has entered the 50, 100, 200 and 400m freestyle in Shenzhen, raising the possibility of at least one meeting with the 33-year-old Sun, who has been listed for the 100, 200, 400 and 800m freestyle.
South China Morning Post
23-03-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
China swim star Qin Haiyang back in Olympic gold form, eyes World Championships glory
By any metric, Chinese swim star Qin Haiyang struggled at last summer's Paris Olympics, failing to make the final of the 200m breaststroke and finishing seventh in the 100m event. Advertisement But the triple world champion, who dominated the 50m, 100m and 200m races in Fukuoka in 2023, was in gold-medal form at last week's Chinese Spring National Championships, showing the kind of speed that could make his rivals nervous. The 25-year-old won the 200m breaststroke in two minutes, 7.44 seconds, which would have secured bronze in Paris, and swam a 58.66 in the 100m, a time good enough to have topped the podium in the French capital. With the World Championships coming up in Singapore in July, Qin said his performance in Qingdao showed he was getting back to his best. 'My performance is similar to where I was in 2023 when I was approaching my peak,' he said. 'It's a good start and a sign that I'm regaining my best condition. Advertisement 'I didn't expect this result. My goal was simply to swim under 2:09. Today's result is faster than my time at last year's National Championships [2:08.87].'
South China Morning Post
13-02-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
32 most drug-tested swimmers globally in 2024 were all Chinese, data reveals
Data released this month by World Aquatics has confirmed the extent to which China's swimmers were subject to anti-doping measures last year, with the top 32 most tested athletes all being Chinese. The full figures for tests carried out in 2024 on more than 1,500 athletes, updated on February 4 and disclosed by the governing body's Aquatics Integrity Unit, follows a build-up to last year's Paris Olympics in which Chinese swimmers were tested twice as much as their rivals. World Aquatics (WA) revealed in mid-July that, while those 'from specific nations' were expected to be tested four times between January 1 and the opening of the Olympics on July 26, China's swimmers would be tested out of competition 'no less than eight times'. On the eve of the Games, WA updated that forecast, saying it had carried out 418 tests on 31 Chinese swimmers since January 1 last year, with an average of 13 each – or 21 each when tests by other anti-doping organisations were added. That compared with an average of six in total for American swimmers and four for Australians. Tang Qianting (centre) collects 100m breaststroke gold at last year's world championships in Doha. Photo: EPA-EFE This month's year-end figures showed that Tang Qianting, the reigning 100 metres breaststroke world champion, was tested the most, on 38 occasions. The next, with 35 tests, was Qin Haiyang, the multiple world champion in breaststroke events and a member of the men's 4x100m medley relay team who won gold in Paris – the first time the United States had been beaten since the event's inclusion in 1960.
