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BEIJING, Aug. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- In Kazan, Russia, at the FINA World Championships, China's Ning Zetao had already earned a place in the history books by becoming the first Asian man to compete in the Final of the men's 100-meter freestyle at this competition. But the Chinese speedster was not satisfied to have simply reached this stage, he had his eyes set on the gold medal.
Since the World Championships began in 1973, no Asian swimmer had ever taken part in the final of the 100-meter free event.
Ning, however, showed his ambition and ability to change that in 2014, when he collected four golds at the Asian Games, including the men's 50-meter and 100-meter free golds..
Starting in Lane Five for the Final, the 22-year-old Ning is next to Australian star Cameron McEvoy, who had recorded the fastest time in the Semi-Finals.
But the Chinese swimmer would be in top form on Thursday evening. Often criticized for his slow starts and poor first halves of races, Ning is close to the leader, Canadian Santo Condorelli at the 50-meter mark.
After the turn, Ning kicks it into top gear, and goes all-out for the wall in a furious second-half sprint.
Establishing a lead at 70 meters, Ning would storm to the finish in 47.84 seconds. Pre-race favorite McEvoy finishes 0.11 second behind and takes silver, while Argentina's Federico Grabich wins the bronze.
"It's crazy! Just like a dream. I'm so grateful to my father, and my family. They try their best to let me relax, but in fact I was very nervous for this tournament, as it's my first World Championships. For me, training abroad is very helpful. The Australian coaches gave me a lot of confidence to challenge the top swimmers race-by-race. My gratitude also goes to Coach Ye Jin. Her guidance in my basic training is the key to this victory. It's really hard to find the right words to express myself now. I just want to say, I'm Asian, and I'm Chinese. Today I made it. And I showed the world that Chinese men can also win in short distance swimming," said Ning.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
