On August 1, 2024, in the men's 100-meter freestyle final of the swimming event at the Paris Olympics, China's Pan Zhanle celebrates winning the championship (Xinhua News Agency)
46.40 seconds! In the early morning of August 1, Beijing time, in the men's 100-meter freestyle final of the just-concluded Paris Olympic Games, Chinese player Pan Zhanle won the championship and set a new world record (46.80 seconds) also set by him, which is also the first gold medal of the Chinese swimming team in this Olympic Games.
In an interview after the game, Pan Zhanle couldn't hide his excitement, "After the first day of the 4X100 swim, I greeted Chalmers below, and he ignored me at all, including Alexei of the United States team, when we trained, the coach was on the shore, and he rolled over and splashed directly on the coach, feeling a little despised of us." Can you say that? Finally took them all down today and broke the world record in such a difficult pool. It was a really good performance, and I got the Chinese team off to a great start. When asked about the method of "breakthrough", Pan Zhanle said, "Holding my breath, I felt the hope of so many people and so many people in our country before I got into the water." ”
This scene reminds people of the Athens Olympics 20 years ago, Liu Xiang broke the Olympic record at the time in the men's 110m hurdles final with a time of 12.91 seconds to win the gold medal, and he left this sentence on the banks of the Aegean River, "Who said that yellow people can't get the top eight in the Olympics, I just want to prove it to everyone today!" "There are similarities with the men's 100m event in track and field, where the gold medal in the men's 100m freestyle event has long been monopolized by European and American athletes.
China's Pan Zhanle (second from right) touches the line first in the men's 100m freestyle final of the swimming event at the Paris Olympics on August 1, 2024 (Xinhua News Agency)
The day before, in the early morning of July 31, Beijing time, Pan Zhanle swam 47.21 seconds in the semi-finals of the project, and successfully advanced to the finals with the first place in the semi-finals.
Half a day later, in the men's 100-meter freestyle preliminaries, Pan Zhanle only swam 48.40 seconds, ranking 13th among all the participants. While qualifying for the semi-finals, this result was worrying, and compared to his personal best, the preliminaries were 1.60 seconds slower.
"I'm scared to death," Pan Zhanle blurted out as he walked through the interview area after the game.
Another event that Pan Zhanle participated in at the Paris Olympics was the men's 4X100m freestyle relay. In the early morning of July 28, Beijing time, the Chinese team composed of Pan Zhanle, Ji Xinjie, Chen Juner, and Wang Haoyu achieved a time of 3:11.28, ranking fourth and missing the Olympic medal. However, Poon Chin Lok scored 46.92 seconds in his first run, breaking the Olympic record in the men's 100m freestyle.
After the race, the information card of the Paris Olympians was updated instantly, and Pan Zhanle's personal introduction column showed that he is the holder of the world record and Olympic record in the men's 100m freestyle.
Data show that in the men's 100-meter freestyle event, there are only 10 times to swim within 47 seconds (including this Olympic Games), and the only players who can swim under 47 seconds are currently two young talents, Pan Zhanle and Popovich of Romania. Popovich swam 47 seconds twice in a row at the 2022 European Swimming Championships.
At the Hangzhou Asian Games in September 2023, Pan Zhanle won the gold medal with a time of 46.97 seconds and broke the Asian Games record, becoming the first Asian athlete to swim 47 seconds in this event; At the World Championships in Doha in February 2024, Pan Zhanle broke Popovich's world record with a time of 46.80 seconds at the first baton of the relay; In the 4×100-meter freestyle relay final of the Paris Olympics in the early morning of July 28, he once again swam 46.92 seconds at the first position of the relay, breaking the Olympic record in the men's 100-meter freestyle; In the men's 100-meter freestyle final of the Paris Olympics in the early morning of August 1, Pan Zhanle broke the world record he set with a time of 46.40 seconds.
On February 15, 2024, Doha, Qatar, at the 2024 Doha World Swimming Championships, Pan Zhanle (middle) won the men's 100m freestyle championship (Visual China)
Pan Zhanle broke Popovich's world record of 46.86 seconds at the World Swimming Championships in Doha, marking the first time a Chinese athlete broke the world record in the men's 100m freestyle event. At that time, he said in an interview that he was looking forward to competing in the Olympic arena and winning the Olympic championship was his most important goal.
In an article on its official website, FINA wrote that Poon's breaking of the world record was not a surprise or a flash in the pan, and that for those who have been following his performances, he has only completed the plan ahead of schedule.
Born in 2004 in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, Pan Zhanle is about to celebrate his 20th birthday at the Paris Olympics. In the 15th Zhejiang Provincial Games in 2014, 10-year-old Pan Zhanle won four individual championships and three relay championships in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter medley, and 400-meter freestyle; At the age of 14, Pan Zhanle was selected for the Zhejiang Provincial Swimming Team, and the following year he won the men's 1500-meter freestyle championship at the 2019 National Summer Swimming Championships.
To train teenagers, coaches usually use extra training to burn off the child's excess energy. "But because I liked swimming too much, I was punished by the coach and forbade me to continue swimming, so I could only stare dryly by the pool. I still remember that feeling vividly, and I want to jump into the pool and swim a few times. "Perhaps because I was born interested in water, after I started to swim, I was out of control, not only learned the four swimming strokes of freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly in a very short period of time, but also became more and more addicted to practice." ”
Love and excitement soon encountered challenges, and Pan Zhanle ushered in the physical change stage of adolescence. Since 2017, some children of the same age have begun to enter puberty, which makes them have a clear advantage in height and strength.
"Other people grew and developed earlier than him, and those who couldn't swim him before are now faster than him, and he himself is very curious." At that time, the coach Wang Shi patiently persuaded that only by maintaining the original intention of loving swimming, practicing the technical movements well, and waiting for his body to develop, could he have the capital to compete with others again. In Wang Shi's view, a good sense of water is Pan Zhanle's greatest talent. "Kicking a ball has a sense of the ball, swimming is a sense of water, for example, I may not have as much strength as you on land, but in the water, I can make it stronger."
Day after day, Pan Zhanle never slacks off in training and completes every day's tasks. In 2018, Pan Zhanle entered the Zhejiang Provincial Swimming Team.
The 15th World Short Course Swimming Championships in December 2021 was the first world competition in Pan Zhanle's career, but he did not qualify for the final of any of the individual competitions he participated in, and could only watch from the stands. His Weibo name was once "Grandstand Spectators", which is where it comes from. In the following two years, he improved significantly, breaking the Asian record in the 100m freestyle with a time of 47.22 seconds at the 2023 National Swimming Championships, and rising to No. 1 in the world rankings.
When it comes to the method of success, Pan Zhanle only knows that he should do a good job in every training according to the coach's requirements, "How much effort is used in every meter, it is the muscle memory formed in training." Bring the feeling of training into the game, keep it in good shape, and your performance will improve. ”
In June 2022, in the semifinals of the men's 100m freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Pan Zhanle advanced to the final with a time of 47.65 seconds, which tied the national record held by Ning Zetao and became the second athlete in the history of Chinese men's sprint freestyle to knock on the door in 48 seconds. Since then, he has smashed into 47 seconds several times, setting new Asian and even world records.
"Breaking the world record is a natural thing, and my goal is to swim faster and improve the world record a little bit so that other competitors can't easily touch it." Pan Zhanle once responded in an interview.
The Hangzhou Asian Games in September 2023 was Pan Zhanle's first trip to the Asian Games, and after winning three championships in one fell swoop, he was increasingly known as the "Flying Fish of Swimming". It was also at that stage that he broke the Asian record in the men's 100m freestyle. "You can't be called a flying fish without breaking a world record and winning a world championship," 19-year-old Pan responded with the courage of a newborn calf.
On August 1, 2024, in the men's 100-meter freestyle final of the swimming event at the Paris Olympics, Chinese player Pan Zhanle won the championship with a time of 46.40 seconds and broke the world record (Xinhua News Agency)
There are similarities with the men's 100m event in track and field competitions, where the gold medal in the men's 100m freestyle event has long been monopolized by European and American athletes. Pan Zhanle's breakthrough at the 2024 World Championships in Doha has taken Chinese men's swimming to a whole new level. "I'm 'off work' at the World Championships in Doha. Winning 4 gold medals just proves that my efforts in the past period of time have not been in vain, and motivates me to work harder in the next training. I'm always looking forward to competing against the best players at the Olympics. Pan Zhanle said in an interview after the World Championships in Doha.
After breaking the record, Pan Zhanle admitted that he had a little pressure for the first time. But keep swimming in the water, it's much better. Water has no shape, it's like an unlimited goal. After completing a goal, he will continue to attack the next goal, which is something that makes Pan Zhanle feel constantly excited, and swimming can bring him this feeling, "I won't put too much pressure on myself, just do what I can do at the moment, and just keep improving myself." ”
Alain Bernard, the France Olympic champion in the men's 100m freestyle at ·the Beijing Olympics, said Mr. Pan's performance was impressive, especially as he and the likes of Popovich were not physically strong, but rather slim, and they may have understood something that others had not yet understood.
Pan Zhanle's Weibo profile is like a bear sleeping on a tree, which usually gives people a lazy, slow feeling. Pan Zhanle explained, "I just saw a picture I liked very much, so I made a Weibo profile picture. The similarity of inner temperament can probably be described as "blunt sensitivity", always optimistic blunt sensitivity, and a stable spiritual core, which makes Pan Zhanle enjoy swimming more as a competitive athlete. Whether it's a coach's reproach or a loss in a game, an unpleasant experience is like a disinfectant in a pool that disappears into the water. Pan Zhanle knows very well that training is for himself, not to prove or gamble to others. Every time he competes, no matter how good or bad the results are, he can always adjust in time.
Champion Pan Zhanle (center), runner-up Australia's Chalmers (left) and third runner-up Romania's Popovic at the award ceremony on August 1, 2024 (Xinhua)
After winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, Pan Zhanle was asked in an interview, "What else can I win a world record and an Olympic champion?" ”
"And the short course world champion, not necessarily, Chalmers [is] the world record." Pan Zhanle will continue to complete his answers with the most practical results.
(Reference: China Sports News, Global People, People's Daily, SEASONmag, Qilu One Point)
Southern People Weekly reporter Han Ruxue
Editor-in-charge: Chen Yafeng