Pan Zhanle (left) and his teammates in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay final at the Paris Olympics. [Photo/IC]
In the men's 4x100m freestyle relay final at the Paris Olympics, the Chinese relay team, consisting of Pan Zhanle, Ji Xinjie, Chen Jun'er, and Wang Haoyu, finished with a time of 3 minutes and 11.28 seconds. This also marks the first time the Chinese men's 4x100m freestyle relay team has reached the Olympic final.
Although they missed the podium, Pan, swimming the first leg, set a new Olympic record in the men's 100m freestyle with a time of 46.92 seconds.
During the preliminary competition, the Chinese team clocked in at 3 minutes and 11.62 seconds, ranking first among all participating teams. Pan, swimming the anchor leg in the competition, finished with a time of 46.98 seconds.
Earlier this year, at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Pan also swam the first leg of the relay in 46.8 seconds, breaking the world record of 46.86 seconds set by Romanian prodigy David Popovici. This was the first time a Chinese swimmer has ever broken the world record in the men's 100m freestyle.
Statistics show that only eight swimmers worldwide have achieved times under 47 seconds, with only Pan and Popovici having done so consistently.
