Asian Games champions Yu Zidi and Zhang Zhanshuo claimed gold medals on the opening day of the 2026 National Swimming Championships (25m) in Beijing on Friday. CGTN Sports Scene's Zhu Mandan reported from the National Aquatics Center, also known as the Water Cube, where swimmers are competing for places at December's World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m).

Fourteen-year-old Yu, who won three golds at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, took the women's 200m individual medley title in 2:06.86. Despite her victory, the young sensation who was named Female Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2026 Asian Games still feels that she needs to improve her technique in short-course races. 

Zhang, a seven-time Asian Games gold medalist, dominated the men's 1,500m freestyle, finishing in 14:26.97. Zhang Zhongxin took silver in 14:30.84, while Li Chengyu earned bronze in 14:39.25.

In the women's 100m backstroke semifinals, 17-year-old Sun Mingxia clocked 56.96 seconds to break the national short-course youth record. Peng Xuwei led the field in 56.59 seconds.

Veteran Xu Jiayu, 31, topped the men's 100m backstroke semifinals in 49.86 seconds. He described the national meet as an important opportunity to prepare for the world championships.

Elsewhere, Li Bingjie won the women's 400m freestyle in 3:57.59, while Li Yifeng took gold in the men's 200m individual medley in 1:54.24.

The national championships run until October 28, with the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) scheduled to take place between from December 1 to 6 at the same venue.