China's Pan Zhanle wins men's 100m freestyle gold at World Aquatics Championships

Pan Zhanle of China won the men's 100-meter freestyle gold medal at the World Aquatics Championships after finishing the final in 47.53 seconds in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday.

This was the first time a Chinese swimmer won this event at the World Championships in nine years. Pan's victory sealed the 19th gold for Team China at this edition. The 19-year-old swimmer had previously won the men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay gold with his teammates and set the new men's 100-meter freestyle world record at 46.80 seconds on February 11.

"I was surprised that I didn't swim faster than this," Pan told China Media Group (CMG) after the final. "But it's okay. The race was over. I will study and learn from it. It's my first world title. I was a little nervous before the final, but I felt better and better later."

When asked about his expectations for the coming Olympic Games in Paris, Pan said he wanted to leave the victories at the World Championships in the past and start from scratch. "Now that I have a world record, I will be more confident and motivated to work harder," he said. "I want to set a higher standard for myself."

China didn't wait long to get the 20th title as Ai Yanhan, Gong Zhenqi, Li Bingjie and Yang Peiqi won the women's 4x200-meter freestyle relay final in 7:47.26 on Thursday.

"I feel so happy. I didn't expect to win this gold," Ai told CMG after the final. "This was officially the first time for us four to work together in a final. I'm so excited about it."

"I was very glad to win the gold in my first World Championships trip," Gong said. "I hope we can repeat this glory in the future."

"We made plans before the final for me to try to create as much lead as possible for Yang," Li said after finishing her part in 1:54.59. "This title is of great help to all of us for the future in training and practice."

"I want to thank my teammates – the two elder sisters and the younger one – for setting up such a big lead for me," Yang told CMG. "They gave me the confidence to win in the end."

In the other three finals at the World Championships on Thursday, Laura Stephens of Britain won the women's 200-meter butterfly gold medal in 2:07.35. Claire Curzan of the U.S. pocketed the women's 50-meter breaststroke title in 27.43 seconds. Finlay Knox claimed the men's 200-meter medley gold in 1:56.64.