Chinese swimmers were in excellent shape in the first leg of the 2020 edition of the FINA Champions Swim Series, organised in Shenzhen (CHN) on January 14-15, winning nine gold medals out of the 28 individual events in the programme. The swimming stars now travel to Beijing (CHN), where the second leg of the competition takes place on January 18-19. Overall, 70 swimmers are participating in the event, totalling 59 Olympic and 163 World Championships’ medals.
In Shenzhen, among men, Xu Jiayu controlled operations in backstroke action, taking gold in the 50m and 100m. Wang Shun was the best in the 200m IM, while local hero Sun Yang touched home for the title in the 400m free.
Andrei Minakov, from Russia, left Shenzhen with two titles – 100m free and 100m fly -, the same harvest than Arno Kamminga, from the Netherlands, the most successful swimmer in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke. Vladimir Morozov, also from Russia and winner of the 2019 overall ranking of the FINA Swimming World Cup, was the fastest in the 50m free, while, at almost 40, Brazilian Nicholas Santos shone in the 50m fly.
Other winners in the men’s events included Danas Rapsys (LTU) in the 200m free, Markus Thormeyer (CAN) in the 200m back, Ilya Shymanovich in the 50m breast, and Tamas Kenderesi (HUN) in the 200m fly.
In female events, China’s dominance was stronger, with five gold medals: Liu Xiang in the 50m free and 50m back; Yang Junxuan in the 200m free; Liu Yaxin in the 200m back; and Yu Jingyao in the 200m breast.
Katinka Hosszu, from Hungary, bagged two gold medals – in the 200m fly and 200m IM, one of her pet events -, while Martina Carraro, from Italy, also made the double in Shenzhen, with wins in the 50m and 100m breast. Her teammate Elena Di Liddo gave the third gold for the Italian team, with a successful race in the 100m fly.
The Netherlands were also strong among women, with Kira Toussaint confirming her credentials in the 100m back, and Ranomi Kromowidjojo shining in the 50m fly. Siobhan Haughey (HKG, 100m free) and Ajna Kesely (HUN, 400m free) completed the list of individual winners in Shenzhen.
22 nations earned at least one medal in Shenzhen, with the top-5 going to China (nine gold/five silver/two bronze), Hungary (4/4/2), Netherlands (4/3/5), Russia (3/1/3) and Italy (3/0/2).
Winners in Shenzhen (CHN):
50m free – Men: Vladimir Morozov (RUS), 21.70; Women: Liu Xiang (CHN), 24.04
100m free – Men: Andrei Minakov (RUS), 48.94; Women: Siobhan Haughey (HKG), 53.47
200m free – Men: Danas Rapsys (LTU), 1:46.50; Women: Yang Junxuan (CHN), 1:55.52
400m free – Men: Sun Yang (CHN), 3:44.07; Women: Ajna Kesely (HUN), 4:09.05;
50m back – Men: Xu Jiayu (CHN), 24.63; Women: Liu Xiang (CHN), 27.36
100m back – Men: Xu Jiayu (CHN), 53.01; Women: Kira Toussaint (NED), 59.52
200m back – Men: Markus Thormeyer (CAN), 1:59.02; Women: Liu Yaxin (CHN), 2:10.34
50m breast – Men: Ilya Shymanovich (BLR), 27.28; Women: Martina Carraro (ITA), 30.38
100m breast – Men: Arno Kamminga (NED), 58.61; Women: Martina Carraro (ITA), 1:06.85
200m breast – Men: Arno Kamminga (NED), 2:09.00; Women: Yu Jingyao (CHN), 2:24.64
50m fly – Men: Nicholas Santos (BRA), 23.28; Women: Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED), 25.78
100m fly – Men: Andrei Minakov (RUS), 51.73; Women: Elena Di Liddo (ITA), 58.37
200m fly – Men: Tamas Kenderesi (HUN), 1:55.17; Women: Katinka Hosszu (HUN), 2:07.68
200m IM – Men: Wang Shun (CHN), 1:57.76; Women: Katinka Hosszu (HUN), 2:10.42
4x100m free mixed: Team Pebley – Jacob Pebley (USA), Andrii Govorov (UKR), Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED), Siobhan Haughey (HKG), 3:28.40
4x100m medley mixed: Team Di Liddo – Apostolos Christou (GRE, M), Yan Zibei (CHN, M), Elena Di Liddo (ITA, W), Ajna Kesely (HUN, W), 3:48.13