Giant screens, loud music, popular dance and singing made the FINA Champions Swim Series like a live show, but the swimmers remained the biggest stars in the pool as Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden, Fu Yuanhui and Xu Jiayu of China clinched two gold medals apiece on the first day of the new competition in Guangzhou (CHN) on Saturday April 27.
Sjostrom snatched her first title in the women's 200m freestyle (1:57.62), beating Chinese rivals Li Bingjie and Wang Jianjiahe, and later added the 100m butterfly crown (57.16) to her tally.
"Thanks FINA for inviting me to compete in the first leg of the Series. It is very interesting that swimming has changed a lot this year. A lot of new competitions are coming up. I managed to win two events today. It is great to be here and to challenge the best swimmers before the World Championships in Gwangju, Korea, in July," the Swedish sensation said.
Katinka Hosszu of Hungary continued her typical “Iron Lady” mode as she competed in five events in two hours and four individual events in first 30 minutes. Hosszu edged Li Bingjie by 0.05 to take the 400m freestyle gold in 4:05.16 and the Hungarian star finished third in the 200m butterfly (2:11.95), and had two fourth places in the 100m backstroke in 1:02.99 and 200m freestyle in 2:02.56. She was second in the mixed relay team in the 4X100m freestyle as the last event of the day.
"I didn't expect to win the 400m free. I was very excited about that since it was my second best time since 2016 and very close to my best ever. The meaning of the competition is not the victory or results, but the race itself. I competed a lot and I just tried my best. And that may push more swimmers, more stimulus and have more fans, and make swimming more popular and generate more revenue for the sport and the swimmers," Hosszu said.
Brazilian veterans, 39-year-old Nicholas Santo won the 50m butterfly (23.01) and 34-year-old Felipe Lime topped the 50m breaststroke in 26.68.
"I am 34 years old and I am in a good shape. I love what I'm doing and I am really happy with my result. I will keep training and I hope I can earn more medals at the Worlds. I hope I can swim faster in the next leg and wish this kind of competitions were more available," Lima said.
Pieter Timmers of Belgium stormed 48.60 winning the men's 100m freestyle and Masato Sakai of Japan led the men's 200m butterfly (1:56.44), followed by Chad le Clos of South Africa who touched home in 1:58.31.
The mixed relay composed of He Junyi 49.09, Benjamin Proud, 49.30, Ranomi Kromowidjojo 54.52 and Georgia Davies 55.93, won the mixed 4X100m freestyle relay in a time of 3:30.55.
Backstrokers Fu Yuanhui and Xu Jiayu made the local fans crazy as Fu touched the wall first in the women's 100m backstroke in 59.60 and later she denied another favorite Liu Xiang, World Record holder, in the 50m back, winning in a time of 27.60.
"I seldom compete two finals in one night and I like the new competition very much. I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere with the audience and the breath-taking race, " Fu said.
Xu Jiayu dominated in the men's 200m backstroke (1:55.24) and the 100m back (52.98), while Irie Ryosuke of Japan finished second in both events.
"I enjoyed the race and I hope the audience enjoyed watching too. I felt a little bit nervous in my first event, the 200m, and better in the 100m race," said the 100m World champion.
Zhang Yufei celebrated China's third victory in the 200m butterfly in 2:07.36 and Ye Shiwen, two-time Olympic champion, celebrated her first victory in the 100m breaststroke in 1:07.48 since she found her new favorite stroke is breaststroke.
"I had competed my first international events in 2010 Asian Games. I was full of emotion when I came back to Guangzhou. It was a great chance to communicate with the best swimmers in the world. I felt I was a reborn swimmer and out of the previous glory," Ye said.
Wang Shun and Qin Haiyang gave China a one-two finish in the men's 200m individual medley in 1:57.24 and 1:57.89 respectively.