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At midnight on August 5, Beijing time, the swimming events of the Paris Olympics came to an end, and the Chinese swimming team achieved another success. In the men's 4×100m medley relay final, the relay team composed of Xu Jiayu, Qin Haiyang, Sun Jiajun and Pan Zhanle defeated the US team to win the championship with a score of 3 minutes 27.46 seconds.

This is the second gold medal for the Chinese swimming team in this Olympics, and the first time they have won the gold medal in this event in an international competition. The victory of the Chinese team also broke the 40-year dominance of the US team in this event for 10 consecutive Olympics, making history!

▲Pan Zhanle (right) was the first to cross the finish line in the men's 4x100m medley relay final. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Zongzhi

Pan Zhanle staged a stunning comeback in the last round

In the men's 4×100m medley relay preliminaries, the luxurious team of Xu Jiayu, Qin Haiyang, Wang Changhao and Pan Zhanle ranked second in the preliminaries with a time of 3 minutes 31.58 seconds and advanced to the finals. Before the finals, the Chinese team replaced a player at the last minute. Wang Changhao, the butterfly baton, was sick and was replaced by Sun Jiajun.

In the final, the first leg was backstroke. Xu Jiayu was in the top three after entering the water and ranked second after turning around. In the later stages, Xu Jiayu tried hard to catch up and surpassed the US team with a time of 52.37 seconds. The Chinese team temporarily ranked first.

In the second breaststroke, Qin Haiyang broke through his previous slump. Although he fell to second place in the first 50 meters, he chased frantically in the last 50 meters and overtook to first place, leaving behind Peaty, the world record holder of the 100-meter breaststroke.

In the third butterfly stroke, Sun Jiajun withstood the pressure, maintained the leading position after entering the water, and was still slightly ahead after turning, but was overtaken by the American and French teams in the later stages. His split timing was 51.19 seconds, 0.75 seconds behind the leading French team.

▲Xu Jiayu (center) starts off during the competition. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xia Yifang

But in the last freestyle, Pan Zhanle once again showed the absolute strength of the world's "flying fish", sprinting in the last 50 meters, surpassing the American team at the last moment and rising to the first place. Approaching, parallel, overtaking, all in one go! His split score reached 45.92 seconds, which was 0.48 seconds faster than the world record of 46.40 seconds he set in the 100-meter freestyle final, successfully surpassing the American team by 0.55 seconds!

In the end, the Chinese team won the gold medal with a time of 3 minutes 27.46 seconds, breaking the 40-year monopoly of the US team in this event. The US team won the silver medal and the French team won the bronze medal.

Winning gold on my 20th birthday: The championship is ours

The day of the competition was Pan Zhanle’s 20th birthday, and the gold medal he helped the Chinese swimming team win became the best birthday gift. After the competition, “Pan Zhanle’s stunning comeback” topped the Weibo hot search list.

Pan Zhanle said in an interview: "Thanks to my good teammates, they gave me confidence and advantages. I admire them three very much." He also said domineeringly: "The game is over, the championship is ours, and the ones who are dissatisfied should be others, not us."

▲Champion Chinese team players Xu Jiayu, Qin Haiyang, Sun Jiajun and Pan Zhanle (from left to right) at the award ceremony. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Du Yu

After winning the 100m freestyle gold medal, Pan Zhanle's world record-breaking time of 46.40 in the finals was incredible to some people. In this relay final, Pan Zhanle's segment results were even better. He said at the press conference: "After winning the 100m freestyle, people said so much. I won't say anything this time. I did what I said. I swam 46.40 in the individual event, and I can break 45 seconds in the relay. I have the ability. Now I don't have to worry about anything. We are the champions!"

As for how to celebrate his 20th birthday, Pan Zhanle didn't care and just said he would follow the team's arrangements.

Xu Jiayu, a "four-time veteran" who won his first Olympic gold medal, choked up at the press conference, but his voice still revealed determination and pride. "Today I felt particularly strong. I was really confident that I could achieve a good result today, so I did it today."

"Today was really the most beautiful battle." Qin Haiyang, who was standing by, was still reflecting after the victory. "Although we didn't reach our best condition, it also means we still have progress to make."

When asked about his opinion on breaking the 40-year monopoly of the US team in this event, Qin Haiyang said arrogantly: "Records are meant to be broken! We will continue to break records in the future."

Chinese swimming team wins 2 gold, 3 silver and 7 bronze medals

The most medals in history

At the award ceremony, four Chinese athletes walked up to the highest podium hand in hand, raised their arms and cheered, and thunderous applause broke out in the La Defense Swimming Pool.

For the Chinese swimming team, this gold medal was not easy to win. It was the second gold medal won by the Chinese swimming team in this Olympics and also the 19th gold medal for the Chinese delegation.

In addition, after winning the bronze medal in the women's 50m freestyle, Zhang Yufei won the bronze medal in the women's 4×100m medley relay with Wan Letian, Tang Qianting and Yang Junxuan. In this Olympics, Zhang Yufei won 1 silver and 5 bronze medals, bringing her total number of Olympic medals to 10.

In this Olympics, the Chinese swimming team won 2 gold, 3 silver and 7 bronze medals, a total of 12 medals, the most medals and the most winners in history.

Red Star News reporter Qiang Yaxian

Editor Zhang Xun Responsible Editor Feng Lingling