Sun leads China to break Asian record at FINA Worlds

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Olympic champion Sun Yang took part in his first and only competition in the FINA Swimming World Championships (25m) on Friday, leading the Chinese team to the bronze in the men's 4X200m freestyle relay with a new Asian record.

Sun swam third 200m in the relay and came from behind to take the lead in the last 25m, but China was overpassed in the last 200m and finished third in six minutes and 47.53 seconds.

Brazil won the gold in 6:46.81, and Russia took the silver in 6:46.84. All the first three broke the world record of 6:49.04. The United States and Australia were fourth and fifth, respectively.

"I tried my best," said Sun, 200m free winner at 2016 Rio Games. "We expected to break the world record before the final. The bronze is a breakthrough. It proved that we are a strong team, we can beat America and Australia."

"It is my first time competing in the short-course competition. It is a new experience," Sun added. "I am happy with the result."

Silver medalist Wang Jianjiahe (L), Gold medalist Ariarne Titmus (C) and bronze medalist Li Bingjie (R) during the ceremony for the women's 400m freestyle final at 14th FINA World Swimming Championships on December 14, 2018. /VCG Photo

China's Wang Jianjiahe added a silver to her gold on Friday. She finished second in the women's 400m free with a time of 3:54.56. Australia's Ariarne Titmus topped the final in 3:53.92 and broke Wang's world record set in Budapest. China's Li Bingjie came third in 3:57.99, her personal best.

"I'll give myself a score of eight out of 10. I am not satisfied with the result. I wanted to get my personal best," said 16-year-old Wang. "I need to improve my stroke skills."

China's medley swimmer Wang Shun only ranked seventh in the men's 100m medley. The gold was claimed by Russia's Kliment Kolesnikov in 50.63. Italy's Marco Orsi was second in 51.03, while Japan's Hiromasa Fujimori came third in 51.53.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency