Swimmers make splash at National Games with world record renewed

by Sportswriter Tan Jingjing

JINAN, East China, Oct. 24 -- Swimmers made splashes at the 11th Chinese National Games as one world record and 11 Asian best had been written in the eight-day competitions which ended here on Saturday.

China's Olympic champion Liu Zige set a new world record in the 200m butterfly final in 2:01.81, knocking over two seconds off previous world best set by Australian Jessica Schipper at the Rome World Championships.

The top favorite also clocked a personal best of 56.07 seconds in the 100m butterfly, which renewed the Asian record held by her Olympic runner-up Jiao Liuyang and was a slight 0.01 second to the world record.

She was joined by other swimming big names and emerging stars, including former world record holder Qi Hui, world champion Chen Qian and teenager swimmers Li Xuanxu and Huang Chaosheng, to smash a total of 11 Asian records at the National Games.

Among the overall 32 swimming events, 26 events were achieved better results than the previous National Games, according to Yuan Haoran, director of the swimming section of the Chinese Swimming Association.

Only three Asian records were demolished at the previous Games in 2005.

China's Olympic champion Zhang Lin led the gold rush by taking three gold in two consecutive National Games, together with one silver and bronze each.

Although failed to sweep gold of all of his six events partly due to a bad gold, Zhang showed the class of his own, and vowed to triumph on British soil in 2012.

"To improve myself through every competition is much more important for me than sealing the gold," said Zhang, China's first male swimming world champion and world best holder.

Two-time Asian champion Qi Hui defended her return to form from years of slump after whacking chunks off Asian records in three events, namely, 200m breaststroke, 200m and 400m individual medley.

Her time of the 400m individual medley now ranks world No. 3.

Besides the prevailing of big names, rookie also took limelight of the competitions as some of them upset hot favorites to triumph with new Asian records.

The 16-year-old Chen Qian renewed Asian records of 400m and 800mfreestyle in 4:02.35 and 8:20.36. Her 400m result currently ranks fourth of the world.

National swimming coach Yao Zhengjie valued her as a promising "leading figure" of women's middle and long distance swimming events.

Teenager Li Xuanxu chalked up 4:30.43 in the 400m individual medley final to shave over 3 seconds off the Asian record held by Chinese Chen Yan. The time drew her up to World No.2 of the event.

A record of 525 swimmers from China's 24 provincial teams, Hong Kong, and the Chinese Army, participated in the swimming competitions from Oct. 17-24.