After Five-Month Break, China’s Zhang Yufei Aiming for 2028 Olympics
Zhang Yufei took a five-month break from the pool at the end of 2024. But the 10-time Olympic medalist is back in the water and aiming to swim through the 2028 Olympics.
Zhang’s comeback began with a social-media declaration of, “I’m back” and a fifth-place finish in the 100 butterfly at the Chinese Spring Championships Sunday in Qingdao.
Zhang went 58.12, far from the 56.21 that she used to win bronze at the Paris Olympics last summer. But after an extended break where Zhang felt sick at the sight of the pool, it’s a start.
“Yes, I’m back [and] I’m very happy to be back in the pool,” Zhang told The South China Morning Post. “After a half-year absence, the last month of training has made me feel different. When I took part in the World Cup last October, I got a kind of sickness, the type that made me want to vomit when I looked at the pool. It sounds ridiculous, but that was my true feeling at that time, I was even a little glad that I was injured so that I could avoid the pool: out of sight, out of mind.”
Zhang, 26, won six medals (relay silver and five bronzes, including three in individual events) at the Paris Olympics. She continued to swim through the fall World Cup circuit in Asia, which began in Shanghai, but withdrew form the last two installments with a shoulder injury.
It’s taken until recent weeks for Zhang to return to the pool, with limited prep for the meet, including a stint at the Hong Kong Sports Institute. But Zhang is back and committed to continuing one of the most accomplished career in Chinese swimming history, male or female, through the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Zhang won gold in the 200 fly and 800 free relay at the Tokyo Olympics, as well as silver in the 100 fly. She owns 11 career World Championships medals; eight are bronze, in addition to gold in the 100 fly at the 2023 World Championships.
