Pan Zhanle, a 19-year-old athlete from Wenzhou, won his first gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Sept 24, setting a new continental record in the men's 100m freestyle with an eye-popping time of 46.97 seconds.
Nicknamed "Spectator from the Stands" online, Pan used to watch competitions from the stands when he was younger. It was not until turning 18 that he made his debut in the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Despite increasingly tough competitions, Pan's confidence only grew during the process, believing that a win is only a matter of time.
At the 100m freestyle event, he squared off with not only the current world record holder Popovici, but also Hwang Sunwoo, a new-generation swimmer from Korea whom Pan views as an idol as well as a formidable opponent.
Pan wound up on top again in the 4x100m medley relay final later on Sept 26, along with relaymates Xu Jiayu, Wang Changhao, and Qin Haiyang, bagging his second gold in a result of 3:27.01, an Asian record the team improved by nearly two seconds.
Pan also won bronze in the men's 50m freestyle and silver in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay, making it a total of four medals in the event, for now.
On the same day, Liu Yaxin, also of Wenzhou, secured a silver medal in the women's 200m backstroke final.
Athletes from Wenzhou have shown exceptional performance at the Asian Games, accumulating nine gold medals as of the morning of Sept 28.
