Chinese swimmer Sun Yang aims for 5th gold in the national games

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After snatching four golds and one silver at China's 13th National Games now underway in the northern port city of Tianjin, Sun Yang has joined the 1500m freestyle endurance race.

Having clinched the world record at the London 2012 games, Sun, the country's top swimmer took to the starting board for the preliminaries, attracting a good following of fans. Shouts of "I love you" put a smile on his face just before he dived into water.

As it was the first stage of the competition, the man from the eastern cty of Hangzhou reserved some energy for later. Despite not being at full speed, he qualified first for the finals.

Five years ago, he stunned the aquatics world in England's capital with a time of 14 minutes and 34.14 seconds and at 25 years of age we could be seeing more record-breaking feats from him in the future.

Sun Yang at the 13th National Games of China. /Xinhua Photo

“This is a tough event, and the one held out until the end will be the winner. I think today I’m not too tired, I looked at the other swimmers and I can adjust my speed. I have the strength to win, so I just did it in my own rhythm,” Sun told CGTN after the preliminary competition.

The 1500 freestyle final and 4x100 meters relay could see a fifth and sixth gold medal for Sun at this year’s games.

As one of the athletes shining on the world stage most of the time, it has been a pleasure for fans at home to see the nation’s biggest swimmer in action.

108km