2019 CHINESE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Wednesday, September 4th – Thursday, September 12th
- Anshan City, China
- Prelims at 6 pm local; Finals at 10 am local
- Results available via Chinese Swim app
- Chinese Swimming News and Results Twitter
Monday saw another National Championship for 17-year old Wang Jianjiahe and a first for 19-year old Zhang Yifan at the 2019 Chinese National Championships.
Yifan’s win came in the women’s 200 fly, where she swam a 2:07.87. That cut 1.63 seconds off her previous lifetime best in the event. Worlds bronze medalist Zhang Yufei, the favorite and one of the major stars who did turn up for the meet, led halfway but wound up 2nd in 2:08.03, with Lu Liying 3rd in 2:08.89.
All 3 times were faster than China’s two entries at the World Championships. There, Zhang swam 2:14.20 to finish 26th, and Zhu Jiaming swam 2:10.52 in the semi-finals to finish 14th. In an event where China was dominant for a decade, they had no finalists at Worlds this year.
Wang’s 5th gold medal came as part of the winning 800 free relay as a follow-up to her 200 free/1500 free double from Sunday.
In men’s racing, Ji Xinjie continued to take advantage of the absence of Chinese star Sun Yang by winning his 3rd gold medal. This one came in the men’s 800 free where he swam 8:01.65. He has previous wins at the meet in the 400 free (3:48.49) and the 200 free (1:47.12).
The other winners on the day were He Junyi in the men’s 100 free (48.81) and Zhang Ruixuan in the men’s 200 breast (2:11.28).
Semi-Finals Front Runners:
- W 100 free: Zhu Menghui 54.77
- M 200 back: Wang Yutian 2:01.25
- W 200 breast: Ye Shiwen 2:28.47
- M 200 IM: Cong Yu 2:02.88
Finals Top 3 Finishers:
#CHNNationalSwimChamps
Day 5 final – M 800 free
🥇Ji Xinjie 8:01.65
🥈Fei Liwei 8:05.35
🥉Wang Haohan 8:07.20 pic.twitter.com/TP7TV0iQCe— Chinese Swimming News and Results (@CHNswim_fan) September 9, 2019
#CHNNationalSwimChamps
Day 5 final – M 200 breast
🥇Zhang Ruixuan 2:11.28
🥈Wang Lizhuo 2:12.61
🥉Shen Hao 2:13.30 pic.twitter.com/TmDmKgadth— Chinese Swimming News and Results (@CHNswim_fan) September 9, 2019
#CHNNationalSwimChamps
Day 5 final – W 200 fly
🥇Zhang Yifan 2:07.87
🥈Zhang Yufei 2:08.03
🥉Yu Liyan 2:08.89 pic.twitter.com/r6QWWZ6xQi— Chinese Swimming News and Results (@CHNswim_fan) September 9, 2019
#CHNNationalSwimChamps
Day 5 final – M 100 free
🥇He Junyi 48.81
🥈Hou Yujie 49.12
🥉Cao Jiwen 49.82 pic.twitter.com/7DscdaaHBQ— Chinese Swimming News and Results (@CHNswim_fan) September 9, 2019