National Short Course Swimming Championships: Xu Jiayu broke the backstroke record twice in one night

China News Service, Beijing, October 24 (Reporter Guo Xuan) The 2026 National Swimming Championships (25 meters) will continue on the 24th at the "Water Cube" of the National Aquatics Center in Beijing. Backstroke star Xu Jiayu won two gold medals that night, breaking the men's 100-meter backstroke Asian record and setting a new men's 50-meter backstroke world record.

In the men's 100-meter backstroke final, Xu Jiayu was the first to touch the wall with a time of 48.77 seconds. When he won the championship, he broke his own Asian record of 48.88 seconds set at the 2018 Short Course World Cup Tokyo Station.

More than an hour later, Xu Jiayu partnered with Zhejiang Shouxiangu team teammates Sun Zheyang, Yan Yanshan and Lu Yue to win the men's and women's 4×50 meter medley relay gold medal. Xu Jiayu, who was responsible for the open backstroke swim, swam 22.03 seconds in his own section, breaking the world record of 22.09 seconds set by South Africa's Kotze at this year's short course World Cup in Tashkent.

According to the competition rules of the World Swimming Federation, the athlete who swims first in all relay races is eligible to be recognized as a personal world record or world youth record.

After breaking records in one night, Xu Jiayu could not hide his excitement after the game. "My estimated time for the 50 meters is around 22.40 seconds. After all, I have swum once before and am not very confident in my physical strength. But I am very interested in the 50 meters, so I release all my energy in a shorter distance."

The 31-year-old Xu Jiayu is already a veteran in swimming, and his consecutive record-breaking performances have given him higher expectations for the World Short Course Swimming Championships in early December. He also hopes to lead by example, cherish every competition opportunity, and inspire more veterans to extend their sports life. "Perhaps for every spectator who loves swimming, there are not many opportunities to watch me compete, one less than one. I will try my best to participate in any competition."

"Butterfly Queen" Zhang Yufei won the women's 50-meter butterfly final with a time of 25.12 seconds. After finishing her journey to the Aichi Nagoya Asian Games, Zhang Yufei focused on physical recovery and further adjusted her training plan and direction for subsequent games. As both veterans, she and Xu Jiayu have the same feeling: "We both hope to move in a better direction."

Following the women's 400-meter freestyle gold medal the previous day, middle- and long-distance freestyle star Li Bingjie won the women's 800-meter freestyle championship. Hubei Sports Team player Peng Xuwei won the women's 100-meter backstroke gold medal. The men's 50-meter butterfly champion is Xu Fang of Shandong Qingshi Team.