China wins world women’s medley relay
- Source: Global Times
- [00:49 August 03 2009]
- Comments
The Chinese team, Li Zhesi, Jiao Liuyang, Chen Huijia and Zhao Jing (from left to right), celebrate after winning the final in Rome yesterday. Photo: AFP
By Liu Xin
China won the women’s 4x100-meter medley relay world title in a world record time of 3 minutes 52.19 seconds at the Rome World Championships yesterday. Though widely regarded as the underdog before the final, China broke the previous record of 3:52.69 set by Australia to win Olympic gold in Beijing last year and seized its first gold in this event since the Barcelona world championships in 2003.
It was China’s sixth title in a relay event in the world championships, with five of them clinched in Rome. In the 1994 Rome world championships, the Chinese women’s team achieved an unprecedented success by winning 12 swimming gold medals in all, including all three relay golds.
“We’ve done so well. We knew our biggest rival in the final would be Australia,” said 50-meter backstroke gold medalist Zhao Jing, whose opening backstroke leg left China in second place by a narrow margin.
Chen Huijia gave her team a narrow lead in the second breaststroke leg, which then held off a battling Aussie squad to keep the advantage the rest of the way. “We all swam so well, we all did a great job today,” said butterfly-stroke swimmer Jiao Liuyang, who has already won bronze in the 100-meter butterfly.
“We weren’t paying attention to the others but only targeting the world record. We concentrated on our own race.”
Li Zhesi finished off the closing freestyle against former world record-holder Libby Trickett as Australia took silver in 3:52.58 – also inside their Beijing world record. The bronze medal went to Germany in 3:55.79.
The United States sensationally failed to qualify for the final, posting the 10th-fastest time in the heats, the first time in the history of the world championships that the US fails to claim either first or second place in the event.
This was China’s fourth swimming gold of the championships, a haul that included the first world swimming title for a man, Zhang Lin, in the 800-meter freestyle. China also won the women’s 4x200-meter freestyle relay Friday. However, the medley gold can be of greater significance.
All of China’s four swimmers in the final were born after 1990, with Li Zhesi the youngest at only 13. Compared with the team that won China a silver medal in the Beijing Olympics, the four girls only teamed up with each other less than a year ago. In contrast, three of the four Australian swimmers won Olympic gold in this event last year.
China’s victory also sees the emergence of breast-stroker Chen Huijia, a great hope of ending the drought in medals in this event since the retirement of Luo Xuejuan, the Olympic and world champion.
Chen didn’t even advance to the women’s 100-meter breaststroke semifinals in Rome, but swam a result of 1:04.12 in her leg, 0.72 second faster than the current world record.
When asked about the meaning of being world champions, the team expressed optimism about the future of China swimming.
“We’ll be even better,” Jiao Liuyang said.
