Chinese swimmer Yang Junxuan back on track before 2024 Summer Olympics

Chinese swimmer Yang Junxuan secured her qualification for the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris after breaking the women's 100-meter freestyle national record by touching the wall in 52.68 seconds at the country's Olympic Trials in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, in late April.

Yang's performance remains the eighth-best result in the world so far this year. More importantly, it's a good sign that she has bounced back after nearly a year of struggles.

According to Yang, she was haunted by central nervous system (CNS) fatigue for months. As a result, she couldn't move her body freely in the pool and, as a result, couldn't practice.

"In the worst case at that time, after swimming a few hundred meters, I wouldn't be able to lift my arms," Yang told the China Media Group (CMG). "If I continued, I would need people to rescue me from the pool."

What makes CNS fatigue so frustrating was that, unlike normal injuries, it doesn't have a clear source. Therefore, Yang, her coach and medical staff didn't know where to begin when they tried to fix the problem.

Fortunately for Yang, she managed to recover in the end, and recovered her form before the Olympic Trials.

"It made me think a lot about training and competing," Yang said. "I realized that everyone has their own pace. I don't need to match others' progress. I just need to find my own pace."

Yang also performed well in the women's 200-meter freestyle event at the Olympic Trials. Her time of 1:54.37 is the fourth-best in the world this year. During the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, she helped China win gold in the women's 200-meter freestyle relay. And after three years, she says he has a new understanding of the Games.

"I can feel that there are more responsibilities and duties on my shoulders," Yang said. "That's the notion I didn't feel before."