Ladies claim relay gold

From Left: Luo Youyang, Zhang Yufei, Liu Yaxin, Li Bingjie Photo: Cui Meng/Global Times

A Chinese world champions-filled swimming team claimed gold in the women's 4x100 meters relay on Tuesday, the opening day of the swimming competition at the FISU University Games in Chengdu.

Led by Olympic champions Zhang Yufei, Li Bingjie as well as world bronze medalist Liu Yaxin, the Chinese female quartet coasted to a FISU Games record of 3:37.51, leading silver medalists Italy by 1.30 seconds, followed by Japan by a further 4.32 seconds.

The back-to-back competitions have resulted in jet-lagged headaches for the Chinese elite swimmers.

"I only had four hours of sleep last night before the competition," Zhang told the Global Times after the morning heat.

"The flight was delayed for an hour, and I arrived in Chengdu at almost 3 am today. I have never been on such a tight schedule."

Zhang underlined that she is competing at the FISU Games here as a college student rather than a professional athlete.

"We have known there would be a tight schedule since we applied for the FISU Games," Zhang said. "We are more often professional athletes, but here we are college students."

The Olympic and world champion said she is yet to experience Chengdu, but added she is an avid fan of pandas, Sichuan's most famous animal.

Wearing a panda-themed swimming hat and a bamboo-themed swimsuit, Zhang told reporters that she wants to try local food such as hot pot while in Chengdu.

Photo: Cui Meng/Global Times

Zhang, who set a new Asian record in the women's 50 meters butterfly, also clocked a 25.29 finish in the women's 50 meters butterfly, setting another FISU Games record.

"I hope to win all the gold medals for individual events and work together with my teammates for more medals in the relay events," Zhang said. "I hope I can fully recover from fatigue in the next couple of days."

Distance freestyle specialist Li, who finished third in the 1,500 meters world championship in a Katie Ledecky-led final, has ambitions of winning medals for China at the FISU Games.

"This is our home game, which also means it is a championship we have to fight for with all our effort," Li said of the team's late surge that saw off their Italian counterparts.

Newly crowned triple breaststroke world champion Qin Haiyang was another megastar to hit the pool on the day, making a splash twice in the men's 100 meters breaststroke heat and semifinals, attracting wild cheers from the crowd in both events.

Their presence at the FISU Games has attracted thousands of people, as the stands were packed since the heats on Tuesday morning. Qin has registered for seven competitions while Zhang has applied for nine.

Bryan Leong, a triple Malaysian national record holder, told the Global Times that the participation of the Chinese world champions undoubtedly raised the overall level of the swimming competitions at the Universiade.

"It's a good experience for swimmers in their events, knowing you go up against world-class athletes who you have so much to learn from," Leong told the Global Times. "It's quite exciting because, as an athlete myself, they are people who you look up to."