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In the early morning of July 30th, Beijing time, in the women's 100m breaststroke final of the Paris Olympics, Shanghai girl Tang Qianting won the runner-up with a time of 1 minute 05.54 seconds, adding another medal for the Chinese swimming team. The Olympic record holder and South African star Tatchana Smith won the championship.

In an interview after the game, Tang Qianting burst into tears: "During the Tokyo Olympics, I silently set a flag, hoping to shine in Paris. These three years have not been easy. I have experienced many lows, but also grown a lot."

Tang Qianting wins Olympic silver medal

Challenger

Before the Doha World Swimming Championships in February this year, when the media predicted the results of the women's 100-meter breaststroke, Tang Qianting's name was not even among the top eight. By July, when the Paris Olympics began, Tang Qianting had become the favorite to win the women's 100-meter breaststroke in this Olympics.

This sudden attention stems from her achievements.

In April this year, at the National Swimming Championships and the Paris Olympic Trials, Tang Qianting broke the Asian record in succession and finally won the championship with a time of 1:04.39.This result not only broke the Asian record, but also ranked fourth in history. Although the top three athletes have not retired yet, this is already the best result in the world in the past six and a half years.

In the 2017 World Championships women's 100m breaststroke final, American athlete Lily King won the championship with a time of 1:04.13, setting a world record that remains to this day. But as she ages, Lily King has only swum under 1:05 once since 2022, in June 2023. Her best result this year was 1:05.43 in the US Olympic trials in June.

At the Doha World Championships in February this year, Tang Qianting won the women's 100m breaststroke championship

What surprised the outside world even more was the extent of Tang Qianting's progress - at the Doha World Championships in February, Tang Qianting broke her personal best (PB) twice in a row, swimming 1 minute 06.36 seconds and 1 minute 05.27 seconds respectively. Then in the National Swimming Championships in April, Tang Qianting swam 1 minute 04.39 seconds.

In other words, Tang Qianting raised her upper limit by nearly 2 seconds in just two months.

The rapid improvement in performance made Tang Qianting set the goal of "reaching the highest podium" early on, but when she arrived in Paris, Tang Qianting kept a low profile.

After the semi-finals, Tang Qianting said: "I think I always faced this game with a challenger's mentality, because I am ranked first in the world, but my historical results are still not as good as theirs, so I always faced it with a challenger's mentality."

Facing a group of top players including world record holder Lily King and South African star Tatiana Smith in the final, challenger Tang Qianting took the lead in the first 50 meters and maintained the advantage until 5 meters before the finish line. However, her hand made a mistake in moving before touching the wall, and the experienced Smith touched the wall first, leaving her in second place with a disadvantage of 0.26 seconds.

After the game, she walked into the mixed interview area. She first hugged Xu Jiayu, who also won a silver medal, and then walked to the reporters with a smile on her face.

Talking about the final, Tang Qianting reviewed the situation like this: "I ranked fourth yesterday, so I decided to give it a try. I also discussed with my coach and changed my tactics. Because the depth of the swimming pool is different, I changed from emphasizing timeliness to frequency. In the last 20 meters, my muscles were already stiff."

"When I first came here, I had high expectations for myself and felt I had to be the champion, but reality dealt me ​​a heavy blow."

Tang Qianting in the game

Bounce back

Talking about the past three years, Tang Qianting's emotions began to fluctuate. "These three years have not been easy. I have experienced many lows and walked out of them. I have also grown a lot."

Behind Tang Qianting's emotional ups and downs is a story of rebounding from the bottom.

In 2021, the fledgling Tang Qianting set a world youth record and two Asian records in a row. Then, the talented girl hit rock bottom. She first missed the podium many times in international competitions in 2022, and then almost missed the winter training at the end of 2022 due to physical reasons. At the end of February 2023, Tang Qianting, who was in a slump, returned to the Shanghai team for adjustments.

In an interview with CCTV's "Blooming Paris" program, Tang Qianting said: "Last year, my condition was not very ideal. I thought about giving up and even asked my coach if I should change my main event. I felt that I didn't have the confidence to swim breaststroke."

Standing at the crossroads of life, Tang Qianting met Sui Jingjing, a national champion from Shanghai Changning Sports School. Sui Jingjing always stayed by Tang Qianting's side, hoping that such companionship would help her find her goal again.

Recalling this experience later, Tang Qianting said with emotion: "I was very confused at the time. I didn't know what would happen tomorrow and how to make a choice. During that time, I felt that what I lacked most was companionship and a listener. Team leader Sui always accompanied me and listened to me vent my negative energy and bad emotions."

In May 2023, after more than two months of recovery and adjustment in Shanghai, Tang Qianting returned to the national team and started her subsequent counterattack journey.

Sui Jingjing said: "When a team member knows where his problems are and how to practice, he will get twice the result with half the effort. So even though the training lasted only two months, it was a qualitative leap for her."

Tang Qianting expressed her hope to carry the banner of Chinese swimming

future

After hitting rock bottom and bouncing back, Tang Qianting first regained her confidence.

After breaking the Asian record in the National Swimming Championships in April and creating the world's best results in the past six and a half years, Tang Qianting commented on herself:"Originally I was aiming for the Olympic podium, but now I may have to challenge for the highest podium of the Paris Olympics. At the moment, I think there is no limit for me. As long as I have enough confidence and practice hard, I have unlimited possibilities."

The improvement in performance also made Tang Qianting more focused on the competition. "Your whole mentality will change. You will have more desire and motivation for training."

During the training process, Tang Qianting found that her core strength was relatively weak, so she took the initiative to communicate with the coaching team, hoping to add one or two more waist and abdomen exercises every week; when she found that her kicking technique needed improvement, she would also take the initiative to ask the coach to help her modify her technique.

"I didn't used to be a person who could think well, but since the National Swimming Championships in Jinan last December, I have been thinking about what went wrong with me for a few days," said Tang Qianting.

Tang Qianting is cute off the court. She likes green swimsuits and has a frog pendant on her school bag. She loves taking photos and dancing in her daily life. But when she steps onto the court, she will put away her cuteness and become fierce and domineering. "I enjoy this tension most of the time. This tension brings me more happiness and makes me excited. It's like the feeling of secreting adrenaline."

At the Tokyo Olympics, Tang Qianting was the youngest member of the Chinese swimming team. At that time, she saw the world and planted a seed of desire. "During the Tokyo Olympics, I quietly set a flag, hoping to shine in Paris."

Tang Qianting won the silver medal with a time of 1 minute 05.54 seconds at the Paris Olympics, just one step away from the women's 100-meter breaststroke championship. It was not perfect for her, but it was exciting enough.

More importantly, Tang Qianting, who has participated in two Olympic Games, is only 20 years old.

As she said herself: "I hope to carry the banner of the Chinese swimming team in the future and create our own glory. I am still young, there is still the Los Angeles Olympics, many more competitions, and a bigger stage."