Liu Xiang Takes Down Asian Record in 50 Freestyle With Sub-24 Clocking
On the final day of the Chinese National Games, Liu Xiang ventured into exclusive territory in the 50-meter freestyle. En route to the gold medal, Liu clocked a time of 23.97 to establish an Asian record in the one-lap sprint. She bettered her own record, which was 24.03. She was followed to the wall by Zhang Yufei in 24.29.
While Liu has produced quick performances in the past, she was not part of the sprint event at the recent Olympic Games in Tokyo. Yet, she clearly took advantage of her opportunity on home soil, where Cheng Yujie was also strong with an effort of 24.41.
Speed was also on display in the men’s 50 freestyle, which was won by Yu Hexin in a Chinese record of 21.68. Yu was the only swimmer to crack the 22-second barrier, as Wang Changhao was the runnerup in 22.06. Yu was considerably faster than the 22.14 mark he produced at the Olympics, which was good for a tie for 19th place.
In the men’s 1500 freestyle, Cheng Long took the gold medal behind a time of 15:06.30. Meanwhile, the foursome of Xu Jiayu, Yan Zibei, Sun Jiajun and He Junyi put together a swim of 3:32.86 in the men’s 400 medley relay.