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Stephy Zhang

Xu Jiayu and Yu Yiting broke Asian records in the men’s 50m backstroke and women’s 200m individual medley, respectively, on the second night of China’s National Swimming Championships.
Veteran Sun Yang also starred, giving his 4x200m freestyle team a healthy lead on their way to victory.
The six-day event in Hangzhou, which serves as the selection trial for the Nagoya Asian Games, saw seven gold medals decided on Wednesday.
In the men’s 50m backstroke final, 30-year-old Zhejiang swimmer Xu clocked 23.92 seconds. He became the first Asian athlete to break the 24-second barrier, shattering the continental record.
“I told Wang Zicheng yesterday that I wanted to see what it’s like to swim under 24 seconds. He said, ‘Brother Jiayu, don’t scare me’,” Xu said after the final, having achieved his goal.

Hubei’s Wang Zicheng took silver with a personal best of 24.47 seconds, while Heilongjiang’s Wang Gukailai took bronze.
“This race is essentially a test for my path to the Los Angeles Olympics,” Xu said.
Describing himself as a practitioner of new training methods, he added: “I have reduced ‘junk training’ and increased recovery time. Every race is a test; we are constantly engaging in trial and error. If the results are good, we keep digging deeper; if they are wrong, we adjust our direction and start over.”
A record was also set in the women’s 200m individual medley, with 20-year-old Yu, another Zhejiang swimmer, claiming gold in a new Asian mark of 2:06.82.
“I didn’t expect to break the record. I only realised it when I heard the cheers and looked at the scoreboard. Seeing that I had broken 2:07, I felt I had no regrets left in this venue,” Yu said.
She revealed that the record fulfilled a dream planted at the same pool three years ago.
“At the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, the Asian record was 2:07.57 [set by compatriot Ye Shiwen at the 2012 London Olympics]. I missed it by just a little, clocking 2:07.75.”
Hebei’s Yu Zidi took silver in 2:09.33, and Hubei’s Ke Wenxi secured bronze in 2:10.99.
The hometown stars’ team dominated the night’s finale, the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay, with Fei Liwei, Sun, Liu Ruiyu and Pan Zhanle winning gold in 7:08.87.
Sun, swimming the second leg, entered the water trailing by 1.12 seconds. He surged in the final 50m, clocking 1:47.52 for his split and handing over a 0.75-second lead. This helped the Zhejiang team edge out Shandong by 0.11 seconds.
As the team celebrated their relay victory, Sun thanked the crowd alongside his teammates, the youngest of whom is more than a decade his junior.
The 34-year-old joked after the race: “We are ‘double champions’ – first in speed and first in age.”

He added that during the final 50m, he had no thoughts other than giving his all. “I wanted to create an advantage for my teammates behind me. We all focused on the details today, handled our exchanges well, and gave everything on our legs.”
This marked Sun’s second highlight of the championships. The previous day, he swam a 49.72 in the 100m freestyle heats, a performance less than half a second off his personal best of 49.27, set at the 2017 National Swimming Championships.
Despite finishing first in his heat, he placed 11th overall and missed the final, responding calmly that it was “just a warm-up for the relay”.


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Zhejiang's Xu Jiayu became the first Asian athlete to break the 24-second barrier in the 50m backstroke in Hangzhou. Photo: Eugene Lee

Yu Yiting set an Asian record in the women’s 200m individual medley. Photo: Getty Images

Second-leg swimmer Sun Yang handed his Zhejiang team a 0.75-second lead. Photo: Getty Images

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Veteran Olympic champion helps his relay team to gold, while Xu Jiayu, Yu Yiting set new times at selection trial for Nagoya Asian Games


Veteran Olympic champion helps his relay team to gold, while Xu Jiayu, Yu Yiting set new times at selection trial for Nagoya Asian Games.


Asian Games 2026

Sun Yang

Sun Yang stars as Zhejiang duo break records at Chinese swimming championships

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Veteran Olympic champion helps his relay team to gold, while Xu Jiayu, Yu Yiting set new times at selection trial for Nagoya Asian Games

Veteran Olympic champion helps his relay team to gold, while Xu Jiayu, Yu Yiting set new times at selection trial for Nagoya Asian Games