Golden double for 鈥榖utterfly queen鈥
Print Edition
Zhang Yufei wrapped herself in a Chinese flag and beamed with joy after setting an Olympic record to win gold in the 200-meter butterfly at the Tokyo Games yesterday.
Less than half an hour later, the 23-year-old won a second gold medal as part of China鈥檚 4x200m freestyle relay team which beat the United States and hot favorite Australia.
It was a race she hadn鈥檛 planned for. It was a race her teammates never expected to win.
After all, the Australians had double-gold medalist Ariarne Titmus taking the opening leg. The Americans countered with freestyling star Katie Ledecky handling their anchor. The final was expected to be a duel between those two powerhouses.
Instead, it was the Chinese touching first in a race where all three teams eclipsed the previous world record.
China鈥檚 time of 7 minutes, 40.33 seconds is the one that will go into the record books, sending Zhang to the top of the medal podium at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre for the second time.
鈥淲e knew Zhang would be swimming in the relay, but the coach told us not to tell her,鈥 said Li Bingjie, who swam the anchor leg for China. 鈥淪he was the last one to know.鈥
鈥淏efore the 200m butterfly I really wanted this medal but I felt more nervous about it of course,鈥 Zhang said.
鈥淏efore the race, my coach told me you don鈥檛 need to think too much ... be yourself and you will be champion and the result may even exceed expectations and even the record.
鈥淥f course hearing that I thought he was just joking,鈥 she told a news conference after both races.
Zhang, who finished runner-up to Canada鈥檚 Margaret MacNeil in the 100, touched the wall in 2:03.86 for the 200 butterfly, well ahead of US pair Regan Smith and Hali Flickinger, to win China鈥檚 first swimming gold of the Games.
Waving her arms and cheering after the win, a teary-eyed Zhang soaked up the moment, beaming at her teammates in the stands after exiting the pool as they chanted her name.
Xuzhou-born Zhang, dubbed China鈥檚 鈥渂utterfly queen,鈥 is part of the country鈥檚 new generation of rising stars emerging from the shadow of Olympic and world champion Sun Yang, who has been banned for four years due to doping violations.
Zhang, who finished sixth in the Rio final, could not stop smiling as she received her medal on the podium then rushed to pick up a large Chinese flag that had been thrown down onto the pool deck.
Wrapping it around herself, she also encircled her American rivals Smith and Flickinger in the flag as they stood and posed for pictures.
鈥淚n 2015 I was a newborn and didn鈥檛 know anything. In 2016 at Rio I wanted to come in the top three but I didn鈥檛 expect it to be so tough,鈥 she added.
Chinese netizens flocked to social messaging platforms to praise her, while local media lauded her achievements.
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