PARIS: China’s Pan Zhanle enjoyed a “magic moment” after smashing his own world record on his way to victory in the men’s 100m freestyle at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday (Jul 31).
It was China’s first swimming gold of the Paris Games.
Pan powered to the finish in 46.40s, beating the world record time of 46.80s he had set in February in Doha.
Australia’s Kyle Chalmers, gold medal winner at the 2016 Rio Games, finished 1.08s behind to take silver with Romanian David Popovici claiming bronze.
Pan’s victory was a much-needed boost for China who have disappointed in the Paris pool so far.
“I was very surprised that I broke the record, it was a magical moment,” said Pan, who only made the final by 0.06s and failed to make it out of the 200m freestyle heats.
“China is improving step by step. Breaking this record is a small step in the right direction.”
