2021 CHINESE SUMMER NATIONALS
- May 31 – June 6, 2021
- Long Course Meters (50m)
- Olympic Qualifying Meet
- Results via @CHNswim_fan On Twitter
Upon the conclusion of day 2 of the 2021 Chinese Summer Nationals, no more swimmers have managed to crack the FINA A standards in their respective events. The meet is serving as a second opportunity for swimmers to hit those FINA A cuts and add their names to the 2020 Chinese Olympic roster. While many came close, all fell short in the men’s 200 free and 100 back, and the women’s 100 breast, 400 free, and 100 back.
Men’s 200 Freestyle
- Fina ‘A’ cut: 1:47.02
- Chinese National Record: 1:44.39 – Sun Yang (2017)
Top 3:
- Ji Xinjie 1:47.09
- Hong Jinquan 1:47.24
- Zhang Ziyang 1:48.11
Ji Xinjie got things started on day 2 of Chinese nationals with a 1:47.09 victory in the men’s 200 freestyle. While that’s just 0.07 seconds over the FINA A standard in the event, Xinjie already hit the Olympic qualifying time last month with his 1:46.75 at the country’s first Olympic Trials meet. There he took silver in the event to Wang Shun who also qualified for the meet with a 1:46.55.
Hong Jinquan improved slightly upon his 1:47.30 last month by swimming a 1:47.24 for the silver medal while Zhang Ziyang was a 1:48.11 for bronze. This is both Xinjie and Ziyang’s second medal of the meet after they went 1-2 in the men’s 400 freestyle on day 1 with a 3:48.04 and 3:50.08, respectively.
Considering that China has qualified to race the men’s 4×200 freestyle relay in Tokyo this summer, Hong Jinquan and Zhang Ziyang could be considered for a spot on that relay as their swims are well under the FINA B standards of 1:50.23.
Women’s 100 Breaststroke
- Fina ‘A’ cut: 1:07.07
- Chinese National Record: 1:05.32 – Ji Liping (2009)
Top 3:
- He Yun 1:09.36
- Liu Ziyi 1:10.28
- Yang Peiqi 1:10.75
The women’s 100 breaststroke field here at Chinese Nationals were all competing for the 1 remaining spot on the 2020 Olympic squad in the event, hoping to join Tang Qianting who is China’s sole qualifier so far. Qianting hit a 1:06.82 at the most recent qualifying meet, undercutting the 1:07.07 FINA A.
He Yun lead the charge in the women’s final but fell a few seconds short with a 1:09.36 victory, followed by Liu Ziyi who swam a 1:10.28 for silver, and Yang Peiqi who was a 1:10.75 for bronze. Those times were all slower than Tang Qianting‘s fellow podium finishers last month when Yu Jingyao took silver with a 1:07.73 and Yang Chang was bronze in a 1:08.26.
Men’s 100 Backstroke
- Fina ‘A’ cut: 53.85
- Chinese National Record: 51.86 –Xu Jiayu (2018)
Top 3:
- Wang Yutian 55.09
- Li Guangyuan 55.12
- Hu Yixuan 55.52
As was the case in the women’s 100 breaststroke final, the field was gunning for the second Olympic spot in the event. At the last meet, national record-holder Xu Jiayu was the only sub-FINA A swimmer with a 52.88 which left one spot open in the event.
Wang Yutian got the closest with a 55.09 for the gold medal but that still left him more than a second off the required cut. Despite the fact that nobody notched the 53.85 FINA A standard, it was a solid race for the title as Li Guangyuan came in just 0.03 seconds later with a 55.12 for silver. That’s a bit slower than what Guangyuan swam at last month’s Olympic Trials meet where he took silver in a 54.63.
Hu Yixuan was in the mix as well, following with a 55.52 for bronze.
Women’s 400 Freestyle
- Fina ‘A’ cut: 4:07.90
- Chinese National Record: 4:01.75 – Li Binjie (2017)
Top 3:
- Qiu Yuhan 4:11.61
- Yang Peiqi 4:17.43
- Ji Minhua 4:17.99
The trend of slightly trailing the FINA A standard continued in the women’s 400 freestyle as Qiu Yuhan lead the pack with a 4:11.61, roughly 4 seconds over the required 4:07.90. She won by a considerable margin as Yang Peiqi followed with a 4:17.43 for silver and Ji Minhua a 4:17.99 for bronze.
The women’s 400 freestyle is another one of the events in which 2 people have actually already qualified for the 2020 Chinese Olympic team. At last month’s qualifying meet, the entire podium actually swam under the 4:07.90 FINA A in the form of Li Bingjie (4:02.36), Tang Muhan (4:05.15), and Wang Jianjiahe (4:05.68). That gave national record-holder Bingjie and Muhan a spot on the team.
Women’s 100 Backstroke
- Fina ‘A’ cut: 1:00.25
- Chinese National Record: 58.72 – Fu Yuanhui (2017)
Top 3:
- Wan Letian 1:00.52
- Tong Lin 1:02.08
- Liu Yaxin 1:02.22
The women’s 100 backstroke yielded no new Olympic qualifiers as Wan Letian hit a 1:00.52 to win the event which left her just 0.27 seconds over the 1:00.25 qualification cut. Tong Lin and Liu Yaxin rounded out the podium with a 1:02.08 for silver and a 1:02.22 for bronze, respectively.
It actually would have taken more than a 1:00.25 to earn consideration for the Chinese Olympic squad, however, considering that 2 women posted sub-1:00 swims at last month’s Olympic Trials meet. Chen Jie won gold with a 59.75 at the previous meet while Peng Xuwei was a 59.89 for silver which gave them both a spot on the Olympic team for this summer.