Liu Yaxin, a female swimmer specializing in backstroke. [Photo/WeChat account: wenzhoufabu]
The six-day "Exciting Hangzhou" Chinese National Swimming Championships came to a close on May 6 at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Aquatic Center, local media outlets reported.
The Zhejiang provincial team dominated the medal tally with 18 golds, eight silvers, and five bronzes, while players from Wenzhou, a coastal city in Zhejiang, received 11 golds and three silvers.
The biggest surprise from the Wenzhou team was 19-year-old Pan Zhanle, who won six golds and one silver at the competition. After breaking the Asian record and winning the gold medal in the men's 100m freestyle on the first day with a time of 47.22 seconds, he won another gold medal in the men's 200m freestyle with a time of 1:44.65, which currently ranks him as the world's number one this year.
Pan also single-handedly swept the gold medals in the men's 100m, 200m, and 400m freestyle events and helped his team take the crown in the men's 4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle, and 4x100m medley relay events.
Wenzhou's renowned backstroke specialist, Xu Jiayu, won four gold medals at the competition. In the men's 100m backstroke event on the first day, he swam both heats in 52 seconds, and his final time of 52.47 seconds was better than his performance at the Tokyo Olympics, making it the best performance in the world this year.
Liu Yaxin, a female swimmer specializing in backstroke, won two gold and two silver medals and played a vital role in the women's 4x100m medley relay final, where she swam the first leg and helped her team win.
