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On the final day of the swimming competition at the Paris Olympics, the Chinese swimming team once again made a big splash at the La Défense Arena. In the last two relay events, the Chinese team won one gold and one bronze. In particular, the men's 4x100m medley relay, the four young men of the Chinese team fought hard and won the Olympic championship for the first time in history, breaking the 40-year dominance of the US team in this event.

Although the Chinese swimming team won fewer gold medals in this Olympics than the three gold medals won in the last Tokyo Olympics, the two gold medals they won this time (men's 100m freestyle and men's 4x100m medley relay) were both from events that European, American and Australian athletes had dominated in the past.Its breakthrough significance and impact on the world swimming community far exceed anything seen before.

In addition, the Chinese swimming team won a total of 12 medals in the Olympic Games, the total number of medals isThe best in all Olympic Games.

The Chinese team took a group photo with the American team and the French team after winning the gold medal

What is the value of this gold medal?

Medley RelayThis means that a country needs to find four world-class athletes in the four swimming styles of backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly.This is a very difficult thing to do. Even strong countries like the United States and Australia cannot achieve a perfect fourth leg. The segment results show that after swimming 200 meters, the Chinese team is in the lead, while the American team dropped to fourth, and the British team and the French team are second and third respectively. So without a balanced overall team, it is impossible to lead to the end.

The host player Marchand won four individual gold medals in the swimming pool at the Paris Olympics, but he was unable to carry the team alone in the relay race. Marchand was 23 years old, and the oldest player on the French team was already 33 years old. There were no other three strong players to match him, so he could only finish third.

In the segment time statistics, except for the butterfly stroke, China ranked third, the other three strokes ranked first.The undisputed strongest in the world.

Champion Chinese team players Qin Haiyang, Xu Jiayu, Sun Jiajun and Pan Zhanle (from right to left) pose for a group photo after the award ceremony. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Zongzhi

Among them, Xu Jiayu led his old rival Murphy by 0.07 seconds, once again defeating his "lifelong enemy". After failing to achieve his goal in the individual events, he adjusted his strategy and conserved his energy.Finally, the dream of scoring a buzzer-beating goal came true in this Olympics.

Qin Haiyang's performance in this Olympics has been full of ups and downs.But in the end, he vindicated himself with his strongest breaststroke.His time of 57.98 seconds surpassed his biggest competitor, Briton Peaty. He did not get lost in the La Défense swimming pool.

Butterfly stroke is the weak link of the Chinese team, because Wang Changhao suddenly had a fever, Sun JiajunHe was given the task in a time of crisis, but he lived up to the mission.

If the gold medal Pan Zhanle won in the 100-meter freestyle at this Olympics was a breakthrough for an individual, then the value of this relay gold medal is doubled, as it marksOverall transcendence from point to surface.In the field of competitive swimming, which is dominated by European and American powers, it was unimaginable in the past that Asian countries would break this pattern.

Pan Zhan is going crazy with his fun, but unfortunately...

When Pan Zhanle, who was in charge of the fourth freestyle task, took over the baton, the Chinese team was 0.75 seconds behind the French team and the American team and ranked third. Before he jumped into the water, no matter how good the novelist was, he could not write the story that would happen next.

A dragon out to sea is probably the most appropriate description of Pan Zhanle. At the 50-meter turn, Pan Zhanle surpassed the American player, and the lane where the Chinese team was located in the TV broadcast camera changed to "LEADER". At 100 meters, Pan Zhanle was 0.55 seconds ahead of the French player who arrived at the finish line in second place, achieving a terrifying 1.3-second reversal, helping the Chinese team win the championship with an advantage of nearly 1 body length.

Pan Zhanle's 100-meter result is a jaw-dropping 45.92 seconds.This is the first time a human has swum under 46 seconds.

Unfortunately, because freestyle is one of the most importantthe last oneCompetitive swimming style,It's not about following the starting gun.Therefore, the segment results cannot be counted as breaking the world record. According to the relevant rules,The performance of the first runner in a relay race can be applied for as a world record.Because they enter the water after hearing the "starting gun". For example, in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay at the Doha World Swimming Championships in February 2024,In the first baton,Pan Zhanle swam 46.80 seconds, breaking the world record at the time.

Many netizens joked: "Pan Zhanle, how fast can you swim at best? Can you give me an exact number? My heart can't stand it if you keep breaking new records like this."

On February 11, Chinese team player Pan Zhanle showed his gold medal after the award ceremony. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xue Yuge

The best birthday gift

A look at the history of the development of the "Flying Fish" record in the 100-meter freestyle will make it clear how great a shock Pan Zhanle brought.

From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, the time for the 100-meter freestyle was generally less than one minute.

By 1988, after nearly a hundred years of development, the world record for the 100m freestyle finally reached 48.42 seconds, less than 49 seconds, set by American athlete Montgomery.

Entering the 21st century, swimming techniques and training methods have made great leaps forward, and with the high-tech support of fast swimsuits, the 100m freestyle has improved rapidly. In 2000, Dutch star Hogenband broke the 48-second mark and pushed the record to 47.84 seconds. In 2009, Brazilian Joao Cielo once again achieved a milestone by raising the 100m freestyle world record to within 47 seconds with a time of 46.91 seconds.

In the 13 years since then, people have abandoned speed suits, but have never been able to get close to this record. Many people have begun to doubt that this is the limit of human endurance.

It wasn't until 2022 that the Romanian genius Popovic emerged. At the age of 17, he swam an astonishing 46.86 seconds in the European Championships.

With an improvement of 0.05 seconds, generations of men's 100m freestyle swimmers have unknowingly come through 13 years.

No one could have imagined that the next person to make history would be a young Chinese. If one had not witnessed it with one’s own eyes, no one could have believed that the world record for the 100-meter freestyle would have made such a “rapid progress”.

Pan Zhanle made a “first” gesture in the water

When he arrived in Paris, Pan Zhanle first tried his hand at the men's 4X100m freestyle relay final. He was the first to appear and swam 46.92 seconds, breaking the Olympic record.

Next, Pan Zhanle shocked all the audiences around the world with his unparalleled performance.

In the 100m freestyle semifinals, Pan Zhanle performed 8 miracles and won the finals with a time of 47.21 seconds. In the 100m freestyle finals, he left Popovich, who was also known as a genius, behind by a full 1.08 seconds.He won the championship with a world record-breaking time of 46.40 seconds.

Just as people were impressed by this achievement and were looking forward to how many years it would take for this record to be broken, just five days later, on the last day of the swimming competition, the story finally reached its climax. This time, for the first time, humans swam under 46 seconds. At this moment, all the words of praise seemed pale and powerless, and the audience only had to quietly applaud.

After this battle, we have reason to believe that 46.40 seconds is by no means the end, and it is not an extravagant hope for the human record to officially break the 46-second mark.

Screenshot of Pan Zhanle’s post on his birthday

August 4th happened to be Pan Zhanle’s 20th birthday. He gave himself the best birthday gift with a heavy gold medal and an unprecedented great achievement.

Let us wait and see how many touching stories Pan Zhanle and the Chinese swimming team will write in the future.

Source: CCTV.com