Tang Qianting Lowers Newly-Minted SCM 50 Breast Asian Record To 28.82

2024 CHINESE SHORT COURSE NATIONALS

The 2024 Chinese Short Course Nationals wrapped up from Wuhan tonight but not before another Asian record bit the dust.

Tang Qianting raced her way to an even lower mark than what she put up in last night’s semi-finals of the women’s 50m breast.

Yesterday, 20-year-old Tang logged a time of 28.95 to claim the top seed and register a new continental record. Tonight she shaved another .13 off that result to ultimately get to the wall in 28.82.

Tang was the sole swimmer to dip under the 30-second threshold, with Yu Jingyao snagging silver in 30.49 and Wang Yijing bagging bronze in 30.82.

Tang remains the 6th-best women’s SCM 50 breaststroke performer ever.

1. Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) – 28.37, 2022
2. Alia Atkinson (JAM) – 28.56, 2018
3. Lilly King (USA) – 28.77, 2020
4. Jessica Hardy (USA) – 28.80, 2009
5. Benedetta Pilato (ITA) – 28.81, 2020
6. Tang Qianting (CHN) – 28.82, 2024
7. Molly Hannis (USA) – 29.04, 2020
8. Yuliya Efimova (RUS) – 29.08, 2016
9. Lara van Niekerk (RSA) – 29.09, 2022
10. Arianna Castiglioni (ITA) – 29.09, 2021

24-year-old Sun Jiajun couldn’t quite repeat his Asian record-setting performance of 25.72 notched in last night’s semi-finals of the men’s 50m breast.

He was still dominant enough to grab the gold, however, registering 25.94 to beat his competitors.

Next to the wall was Zheng Yinghao in 26.66 and Qiu Tian rounded out the podium in 26.67.

The men’s and women’s 200m back finals also took place this evening with Tao Guannan earning the top spot in the former while Peng Xuwei earned the gold in the latter.

For Tao, the 20-year-old turned in a time of 1:50.76 to nearly beat the field by a second. Jiang Chenglin wrangled up a time of 1:51.69 for silver and the 50m/100m backstroke winner here Wang Gukailai finished 3rd in 1:52.34.

Entering this competition, Tao’s lifetime best rested at the 1:51.75 posted 2 years ago, so he knocked about a second off of that previous PB to remain China’s #2 performer in history.

21-year-old Peng notched a winning effort of 2:02.67 to dominate the women’s race, with the next-closest competitor represented by Sun Mingxia who hit 2:04.65. Qian Xinan also landed on the podium in 2:04.78, good enough for bronze.

Peng is the reigning national record holder in this women’s 2back, owning a personal best of 2:02.39 from finishing 6th at the 2022 Short Course World Championships.

Additional Notes

• Sun Chenbo logged a time of 1:43.66 to eke out the men’s 200m free victory over Xu Yizhou by just .02. Xu settled for silver in 1:43.68 and Liu Peixin earned bronze in 1:44.49. Sun is now China’s 6th-quickest performer in history in this event.
• Liu Zixuan fell just outside the top 5 all-time Chinese performers in the women’s 200m free. She posted 1:54.30 to grab the gold, getting the minor edge over Gong Zhenqi who touched in 1:54.44. A hair later in the tight finish, Yang Peiqi got it done for bronze in 1:54.45.
• Zhang Zhoujian topped the men’s 50m free field with a gold medal-worthy 21.45. That beat out He Junyi and Wu Shengkai who settled for silver and bronze in respective marks 21.69 and 21.74. Zhang now ranks as China’s #2 performer of all time, with only Ning Zetao‘s 21.26 from 2014 ranked ahead.
• Liu Shuhan was the women’s splash n’ dash winner, clocking 24.06. Xie Ziqi hit 24.40 for silver and Wang Yichun turned in 24.41 for bronze.