Xie Zhi from Yunnan province heads for a win in the men's 100m breaststroke final at the national trials for the World Championships last week in Wuhan. The event produced a string of world-class performances, prompting China's head coach, Yao Zhengjie, to expect five gold medals at the coming World Champinships in Shanghai. Cui Meng / China Daily

Facing strong challenges, the Chinese swimming team is hoping for at least five gold medals at the Shanghai World Championships, as Lei Lei reports

With their first home World Championships only three months away, China's swimmers are heading for their last training camp. Although cautious about their goals at the worlds, which will be held in Shanghai from July 16-31, the head coach of the Chinese national team has strong hopes for five gold medals.

"I think Sun Yang has a gold medal chance in the men's 400m freestyle or the 1,500, while Zhang Jing could win one in the women's 50 or 100 backstroke," said Yao Zhengjie, China's head coach, after trials for the world squad in Wuhan last week.

"In the women's 200 or 400 medley, Ye Shiwen has a chance and I hope we can strive for two more in the women's 4x200 freestyle relay and the 4x100 medley relay, although we will face strong challenges in these races," Yao said.

At the last World Championships two years ago in Rome, the Chinese team claimed four gold medals, two silver and four bronze, which was China's best result in the past 15 years at the worlds.

The most surprising and encouraging result came from Zhang Lin, who won gold in the men's 800m freestyle and became China's first male swimming world champion.

Although the final squad for the worlds has not been announced, all the swimmers vowed to achieve the best results possible and their form at the trials in Wuhan was good, with several world-class results achieved.

Golden chances

Rising star Sun will lead the men's team, as defending champion Zhang has not been in his best form in the past year.

Nineteen-year-old Sun Yang stunned the world by winning the 1,500m at the Guangzhou Asian Games in November with a new Asian record of 14 min 35.43 sec. The time was only 0.87 sec behind the world record of 14:34.56 set by Australian great Grant Hackett in July 2001.

At last week's trial, Sun claimed four gold medals in individual events.

In the men's 400m freestyle, Sun finished in 3:41.48, just 0.13 sec slower than the Asian record set by Zhang when he won silver at the Beijing Olympic Games.

"I didn't make any adjustments after a few months' training in Australia. I will leave my best form for the Shanghai World Championships," Sun said.

Women's 50m backstroke world champion Zhan still carries gold medal pressure, as head coach Yao mentioned, although she didn't perform well at the trials in her favorite 50m event and withdrew from the 200 due to illness. But the 20-year-old is not giving up on success at the Shanghai worlds.

"After the trial, I will go for training in Australia," said Zhao, the 50m-backstroke world record holder. "I know it will be a tough challenge but I'm confident I can handle it and set a solid foundation for the Shanghai World Championships."

An even younger swimmer, Ye, 15, is expected to surprise the world in the women's medley this time.

Ye was described as a future world champion by international media after she won gold in the women's 400m medley at the Asian Games last November. She won the women's 200m and was second in the 400 at the trials, and is positive about her chances at her first world championships.

"I sill have some things to improve. I hope I can maintain my good form for the Shanghai worlds," the teenager said.

Challenges in relay

The Chinese women's relay teams gained glory for the country two years ago in Rome as they won gold in world record times in the 4x200m freestyle relay and the 4x100 medley relay. However, the head coach is cautious about their chances of defending those titles.

"Since freestyle swimmer Zhu Qianwei, who is the backbone of the medley team, has not been in good form recently, we will have tough races in the relays," said coach Yao.

"The Australian relay teams, the 2008 Beijing Olympic champions, showed their strength in their worlds trials recently. We will face strong challenges from them."

China's men's 4x200m freestyle relay team has raised hopes for the host nation at Shanghai.

At the Asian Games last November, the Chinese team won its first gold in the event, breaking Japan's dominance over more than 50 years.

"The young members of the men's relay team are still on the rise and they badly want to win gold at the worlds," Yao said.

Other contenders

Besides those gold medal hopes, the Chinese squad also features a group of young swimmers with medal potential, especially in the women's squad.

Olympic butterfly champion and runner-up Liu Zige and Jiao Liuyang will try to maintain their advantages in the event, although the two seldom appeared in international events in the past year.

In women's freestyle, the 18-year-old Tang Yi, who won six gold medals at the Singapore Youth Olympics and four golds at the Guangzhou Asian Games, will be competing in her second world championships.

"Of course I want a medal at the world championships and my biggest rival is myself," Tang told China Daily. "I want to do my best and I'm confident."

Tang's Shanghai teammate Ji Liping will lead the medal chase in women's breaststroke, which used to be China's strongest event, thanks to 2004 Olympic champion Luo Xuejuan. The 22-year-old Ji, the Guangzhou Asian Games 100m champion, is considered a strong successor to Luo.

"I will focus on the 100m event again at the world championships and also on the relay race," Ji said. "Luo created a peak period for China's breaststroke and she is my example. I hope I can improve a lot on my skills and strive for good results at the Shanghai worlds."

For the head coach, it is the right time for such a young squad to perform on the international stage.

"The final squad will be decided by the end of this month or in early May, right before the deadline for worlds' registration," Yao said. "We will strive for the best results possible and test the young swimmers leading up to the 2012 London Olympic Games."

(China Daily 04/14/2011 page22)