 |
|
 |
||
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|||
| Prairie View MFA Agri Services - CLICK - MFA CONNECT |
|
Printable Page
09/20 07:40 CDT Chinese 13-year-old Yu Zidi starts quickly in the pool at the
Asian Games
Chinese 13-year-old Yu Zidi starts quickly in the pool at the Asian Games
By STEPHEN WADE
AP Sports Writer
NAGOYA, Japan (AP) --- Led by 13-year-old Yu Zidi, China dominated the first
day of swimming at the Asian Games with Yu and defending Olympic champion Pan
Zhanle taking gold.
Yu easily won the 200-meter butterfly on Sunday at the Olympic pool in Tokyo,
and Pan took the 100 free, where he holds the world record (46.40 seconds) set
two years ago in Paris.
Yu swam a personal-best time of 2:05.08 and fellow Chinese Chang Mohan took
silver (2:08.44) with bronze for Misa Okuzono (2:09.97) of Japan.
"This is to step onto the podium of the Olympic Games," Yu said. "The top
podium. I train hard day after day.
"Success never arrives overnight. I am very excited and proud."
Teammate Li Bingjie a former Olympic and world champion who won the 1,500
freestyle, is from the same area in China --- the city of Baoding in Hebei
province. She suggested that made the victory even more special.
"I am very happy for her," Li said. "I was very excited to see her win the gold
while I was waiting for my race."
Yu is a swimmer the world is watching heading to next year's world
championships in Budapest, Hungary, and the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. She
turns 14 in October.
Yu defeated American Regan Smith earlier this year Yu defeated American Regan Smith earlier this year in the 200 fly in a meet in China. She swam a personal best in that race (2:05.71), which she eclipsed on Sunday. Smith took silver in the 2024 Paris Olympics behind the dominant swimmer in the event --- Summer McIntosh of Canada. McIntosh holds the world record in the 200 fly (2:01.65) and also holds the marks in Yu's two other dominant races --- the 200 individual medley (2:05.70) and the 400 IM (4:23.65). Yu will swim all three events in Japan.
Pan Zhanle chasing his Olympic form Pan was more than a second off his world-record time and finished in 47.61, barely beating Kim Youngbeom of South Korea (47.65). Another South Korean, Hwang Sunwoo, took bronze (47.79). Leon Marchand, who won four Olympic gold medals two years ago, was on the pool deck in Tokyo handing out medals. The Asian games opened officially on Saturday with the first full-day of competition on Sunday. They end Oct. 4. ___ See full AP coverage of Asian sports here
Yu defeated American Regan Smith earlier this year Yu defeated American Regan Smith earlier this year in the 200 fly in a meet in China. She swam a personal best in that race (2:05.71), which she eclipsed on Sunday. Smith took silver in the 2024 Paris Olympics behind the dominant swimmer in the event --- Summer McIntosh of Canada. McIntosh holds the world record in the 200 fly (2:01.65) and also holds the marks in Yu's two other dominant races --- the 200 individual medley (2:05.70) and the 400 IM (4:23.65). Yu will swim all three events in Japan.
Pan Zhanle chasing his Olympic form Pan was more than a second off his world-record time and finished in 47.61, barely beating Kim Youngbeom of South Korea (47.65). Another South Korean, Hwang Sunwoo, took bronze (47.79). Leon Marchand, who won four Olympic gold medals two years ago, was on the pool deck in Tokyo handing out medals. The Asian games opened officially on Saturday with the first full-day of competition on Sunday. They end Oct. 4. ___ See full AP coverage of Asian sports here
