Day five of the 2016 Chinese Nationals kickstarted with a tight women’s 800 free field and fast times from Li Zhuhao in the men’s 100 fly.
As with most sprint events the men’s 50-meter free was a close field in prelims with the top four athletes posting sub-23-second times. Yu He Xin, who trains at the Guangdong Olympic, turned in the top time of the morning with a 22.59. Shi Yang of Shanghai Hosa grabbed the second-place seed with a 22.70, while Guo Wei finished close behind with a 22.73.
The women’s 800-meter free field proved to be a powerful one with the top three swimmers moving into the lower echelons of the top 20 world rankings for 2016. Zhang Yuhan finished ahead of the field with a final 8:32.21 in heat six. Not far behind was Hou Yawen, stopping the clock at 8:33.38. Li Bingjie grabbed third in prelims with a time of 8:34.49.
Li Zhuhao led the men’s 100-meter fly in prelims with a swift 52.55. Zhuhao currently sits at seventh in the world rankings for 2016 after posting a 51.97 at the Aquatic Super Series in Perth.
A trio of 53’s followed as Hu Yong (53.56), Cui Jumming (53.96), and Wang Yuxin (53.98) rounded out the top four qualifiers of the men’s 100 fly.
The prelims session for day five concluded with the women’s 200-meter backstroke. Liu Yaxin dashed ahead of the competition to deliver the top time of the morning of 2:11.45. Ye Shiwen grabbed second in prelims with a time of 2:13.05, while Chen Jie finished third overall with a 2:13.56.
