The Chinese women struck gold in eight of the nine events. Surprisingly, the Chinese men also swam extremely well. Granted, the competition took place in Beijing, China, but their performances were very impressive.
Wang Luna beat Olympic gold medalist Claudia Poll in the 400m freestyle with a time of 4:05.45.
Rising star Chen Yan, who took home two golds, emerged victorious in the 400m IM. The 17-year-old also took silver in the 100m IM and bronze in the 100m backstroke.
Han Xie came within an eyelash of breaking the world record in the 50m breaststroke, with a 31.00, just 0.02 above the world record.
The Chinese women’s squad is seeking to re-establish world dominance after seven swimmers were banned in a humiliating doping scandal at the 1994 Asian Games which eventually led to resignation of National Team Coach, Chen Yunpeng.
Lu Bin, who made her first appearance at an international event since she was suspended in the Asian Games scandal, finished sixth in the 100m backstroke.
Shan Ying won the 100m freestyle. Qu Yun won the 200m butterfly and Mi Tong won the 200m breaststroke. The women’s gold rush was rounded out by Sun Guiling’s win in the 100 m IM and Cai Huijue’s win in the 50m butterfly.
China’s men’s team won three out of eight available golds.
Jiang Chengji nipped Jamaican Sion Brinn in the 50m freestyle. Brinn won the 100 m freestyle earlier in the meet.
Australia’s Adrian Radley captured gold with a 24.58 in the 50m backstroke while Marcel Wouda of the Netherlands captured his third title in Beijing with a win in the 200m IM.
Ian Wilson of Great Britain swam to a surprise victory in the 800m freestyle while German Jens Kruppa won the 100m breaststroke title.
The next leg of the eight-round World Cup series, which carries $150,000 in prize money, takes place January 22-23 in Espoo, Finland.