SWIMMING: Sun sets as young gun Zhang rises at China's National Games

Sun Yang may never again reach the gold medal-winning heights he attained before his swimming career unraveled in a doping scandal, but China could have a successor in 18-year-old Zhang Zhanshuo.

The Qingdao native has been part of the national team for several years and earned world titles as a member of China’s victorious 100- and 200-meter freestyle relay teams at Doha in 2024.

This week, however, Zhang captured the spotlight for himself at the National Games pool in Shenzhen, claiming gold medals in the 200-, 400-, and 800-meter freestyle events for his home province of Shandong.

Sun, who completed a four-year doping ban last year, finished sixth in the 400, nearly seven seconds behind Zhang, and was disqualified in the 200 final for a false start.

At the peak of his career, Sun won Olympic golds and world championships in both events, as well as the 1,500-meter freestyle. Now, with his 34th birthday approaching, he acknowledged that he is racing more against himself than against the competition.

The future looks bright for Zhang, who broke his own junior world record in the 400 at Shenzhen with a time of 3:42.82.

His 1:44.86 in the 200 was also impressive—less than half a second off Sun’s best time of 1:44.39—making him China’s third-fastest swimmer ever in the event.

Zhang’s performances have generated buzz on Chinese social media, but the teenager said he is not getting ahead of himself, citing the benchmark set by fellow 18-year-old Tatsuya Murasa.

The Japanese swimmer recorded 1:44.54 in the 200 at the Singapore World Championships, earning a surprise bronze behind Romanian winner David Popovici, the Olympic gold medalist, and American runner-up Luke Hobson.

“There was a Japanese talent at the Singapore World Championships who is the same age as me and broke 1:44.60,” Zhang told Chinese broadcaster CGTN after his 200 win. “So I think there’s still a bit of a gap there, and I can’t feel too proud of myself for winning this title.” -Ian Ransom in Melbourne/Reuters