Qin Haiyang destroys rivals at China swimming meet, Haughey beaten at Mare Nostrum
Former world champion gives commanding showing in Shenzhen while Hongkonger’s dominance is interrupted in Barcelona
Qin Haiyang took a step towards winning back his 200 metres breaststroke world title with a commanding showing at the Chinese National Swimming Championships in Shenzhen on Thursday.
Qin came first in two minutes and 7.57 seconds, more than two seconds faster than current world champion Dong Zhihao, who finished in 2:09.98. Third was Yu Zongda in 2:11.99.
The event in Shenzhen is China’s sole qualifying meet for the World Aquatics Championships in July and August. Only the two fastest swimmers from each event to meet the A qualifying time will be considered for selection.
Qin became world champion at the 2023 global championships in Fukuoka, setting the current world record time of 2:05.48. However, his performances in the event since then had significantly stagnated. He lost the world crown to compatriot Dong a year later in Doha.
At last year’s Olympics, despite heading to Paris with the fastest qualifying time, Qin was 0.18 seconds away from not making it through the heats. He then failed to progress from the semi-final.