Chinese 400 Medley Relay Earns World Male Relay of the Year Honors
Especially in relay action, it’s rare for the top performance of the year to materialize at a competition that was not dubbed the premier meet of the campaign. Yet, that is the scenario which unfolded when Swimming World named China’s 400-meter medley relay as its Men’s Relay of the Year for the 2023 season.
While China earned the silver medal in the 400 medley relay at the World Championships in Fukuoka, clocking an Asian-record mark of 3:29.00, it was even more impressive at the Asian Games. There, China produced a performance of 3:27.01, which was just off the United States’ world record of 3:26.78 from the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
China heads into the Olympic year as a top contender for gold in the medley relay, thanks to three legs that are well-defined, and a butterfly leg that is developing. En route to the Asian Games title, China was jumpstarted on the backstroke leg by Xu Jiayu. A two-time world champion in the 100 backstroke, Xu went 52.05 on the front of the relay and positioned Qin Haiyang for the breaststroke leg.
The second-fastest performer in history in the 100 breaststroke, Qin came through with a 57.63 split and was followed on the butterfly leg by Wang Changhao, who covered his two laps in 50.68. Wang was nearly a second quicker at the Asian Games than he was at the World Champs, and continued growth will go a long way in determining whether China can win its first male relay title at an Olympic Games.
On the anchor leg, Pan Zhanle checked in at 46.62 and put the exclamation point on a showing that surely opened the eyes of the rest of the world. In addition to capturing gold at the Asian Games, China was faster than the 3:27.20 the United States managed at the World Champs. Clearly, a showdown next summer in Paris is brewing.