Olympic champion Wang Shun extends record over Sun Yang with 15th National Games gold
- Star swimmer eases to win in 200m individual medley in Xian to win sixth gold of 2021 Games
- Same event Wang won gold for China in Tokyo this summer in Asian record time
Wang had eased into the final with a 2:00.79 swim in the semi-final, which saw him finish third, before dominating in the medal event.
The 27-year-hold has now won 15 gold medals at the National Games, extending his record over fellow Zhejiang swimmer Sun Yang who has won 12.
Wang levelled Sun’s record earlier this week before surpassing the former star swimmer, who is currently serving a ban until 2024 over a controversial doping test.
China’s current star went past Sun with a 13th gold on Tuesday when he won the men’s 200m freestyle final before adding a 14th career National Games gold in the men’s 4x200m free relay.
Wang’s gold run in Xian has been the subject of debate on Chinese social media.
Some commenters suggested that his record is less impressive than Sun’s because several of Wang’s have been won in relay events, while all of Sun’s were in individual events.
Other social media users defended Wang, claiming that relays can be harder to win than solo swims.
Wang is the only Chinese man apart from Sun to win Olympic swimming gold and the first to win in a medley.
The Ningbo swimmer was also Zhejiang’s flag-bearer at the opening ceremony in Xian.
