According to Xinhua News Agency and CCTV.com reports, on August 14 local time, the 2026 Pan-Pacific Swimming Championships held in California, USA entered its third day of competition. In the women's 50-meter breaststroke final, Chinese athlete and Asian record holder Tang Qianting defeated American competitor Syroki with a time of 29.67 seconds to win the championship.
This is the first gold medal won by the Chinese swimming team in this competition. It marks the second time in 29 years that the Chinese team has reached the top of the podium at the Pan Pacific Championships. The last time such an achievement was achieved was in 1997, when Le Jingyi won the gold medal in the women’s 50-meter freestyle event.
In the preliminary rounds before that, Tang Qianting achieved a time of 29.59 seconds, setting a new record for this event. In March of this year, she further set an Asian record with a time of 29.44 seconds at the Chinese Swimming Open.
After winning the championship by a narrow margin of 0.03 seconds in the final, Tang Qianting said after the competition that she participated in the event more as a way to practice than as a real competition. “I just tried to keep a calm mindset and swim freely. I achieved my best personal performance this year, and I’m very happy and satisfied.” She also thanked her coach and the team, saying, “The spectators were very enthusiastic. This pool was a challenge for me, and I’m very excited to have won the championship.”
In the previous women's 100-meter breaststroke final, Tang Qianting won the silver medal with a time of 1 minute 5 seconds and 46 seconds, setting her personal best in this event this season.
On the same day, Chinese athlete Peng Xuwei won the bronze medal in the women's 200-meter backstroke final with a time of 2 minutes and 7.45 seconds. American athletes Regan Smith and Kuzan won the gold and silver medals respectively.
In the men's event, Zhang Zhanshuo won the silver medal in the 400-meter freestyle final with a time of 3 minutes and 42.42 seconds. Australian athlete Short won the championship with a time of 3 minutes and 40.52 seconds, setting a new record for the tournament. American athlete Shackel took the bronze medal.
In the men's 200 meters freestyle event on the first day, Zhang Zhanshuo won a bronze medal with a time of 1 minute 44 seconds and 59 seconds. This was also the first medal for the Chinese team in this competition.
