World Aquatics Championships: Qin Haiyang wins China’s first swimming gold, Yu Zidi fourth
Chinese 12-year-old prodigy Yu misses out on medley bronze by just 0.06 seconds as Summer McIntosh wins second gold in Singapore
Qin Haiyang claimed China’s first gold medal in swimming events at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Monday, winning the men’s 100 metres breaststroke.
And in the women’s 200m individual medley final, China’s swimming prodigy, the 12-year-old Yu Zidi, finished fourth and missed out on a bronze medal by 0.06 seconds.
Qin’s medal and Yu’s impressive performance were silver linings in what was a largely disappointing day for Chinese swimmers, as big names missed out on podiums and failed to progress to finals.
“This definitely helps with confidence,” Qin said. “I’m competing in three events, and they’re all tough ones. Even if I didn’t win gold today, I’ve done better than yesterday, and that’s enough for me.
“In the last 10m, we were all spent; maybe this was when my technique gave me a little bit of an advantage.”
Qin was trailing in the first 75m of the race to Italian Olympic champion Nicolo Martinenghi, but rallied to come home in 58.23 seconds. Martinenghi came second in 58.58, and Kyrgyzstan’s Denis Petrashov claimed bronze in 58.88 seconds.