National Short Course Swimming Championships: Li Bingjie breaks Asian record, Zhang Yufei wins two golds in one day

China News Service, Beijing, October 26 (Reporter Guoxuan) The 2026 National Swimming Championships (25m) will continue to be held on the 26th at the "Water Cube" of the National Aquatics Center in Beijing. Li Bingjie set a new Asian record in the women's 1500m freestyle in the short course, and Zhang Yufei won the gold medal in the women's 100m individual medley.

In the women's 1500-meter freestyle competition, Li Bingjie, who represented the Hebei Taihua team, had a clear advantage, winning the championship with a time of 15 minutes, 34 seconds and 09, and setting a new Asian record.

After the game, Li Bingjie said that breaking the record was expected, and she would strengthen systematic training in the future and strive to swim within 15 minutes and 20 seconds at the Beijing Short Course World Championships in December this year.

Jiangsu Zhouke team star Zhang Yufei participated in three events that night. She first joined hands with teammates Zhao Jiayue, Zhang Xumeng, and Yang Wenwen in the men's and women's 4×50 meter freestyle relay, winning the gold medal in 1 minute, 30 seconds and 14 seconds, and setting a new national record. Later, she also participated in the women's 100-meter butterfly semifinals, ranking sixth with a time of 57.08 seconds, and advancing to the finals the next day.

In the women's 100-meter individual medley, Zhang Yufei appeared again and won the championship with a time of 57.99 seconds. She joked that she participated in the medley competition because it was fun: "Every year in the competition, I basically train around butterfly and freestyle, and rarely involve backstroke and breaststroke. It is a rare opportunity to have such an opportunity, and I also want to prove my ability in other swimming strokes to the coach."

The men's 100-meter individual medley final staged a focus showdown. Zhejiang Shouxiangu team star Pan Zhanle won the championship with a time of 51.44 seconds, and 32-year-old veteran Wang Shun won the runner-up with a time of 51.62 seconds. 16-year-old Xie Yichen won the bronze with a time of 52.49 seconds and set a new national youth record in this event.

Pan Zhanle admitted that his performance in the four swimming styles did not meet expectations. "I still have a lot of room for improvement in my starting and turning, and I need to learn from my seniors."

Wang Shun said: "The goal before the competition is to get tickets for the World Championships. I don't put too much pressure on myself. I will start preparing for the competition after balancing my physical condition." Talking about the younger generation's new record, Wang Shun said: "He swims better every time he swims. There will definitely be more outstanding medley swimmers emerging in the future."

31-year-old veteran Xu Jiayu continued his outstanding performance and won the gold medal in the men's 50m backstroke final with a time of 22.34 seconds.

In addition, Wang Junteng won the men's 200-meter breaststroke final with a time of 2:03.48 and set a new national youth record. Hu Qianhao won the women's 200-meter breaststroke gold medal with a time of 2:18.39 and also set a national youth record. Qian Xin'an won the women's 50-meter backstroke gold medal, and the Shandong team won the men's 4X200-meter freestyle relay championship.