A new world record at the Olympics in Paris for China’s Pan Zhanle at the men’s 100m freestyle final.
A WORLD RECORD FOR PAN ZHANLE🥇
Congratulations to the People's Republic of China, achieving first place in swimming men's 100m freestyle. 🇨🇳
This is the People's Republic of China's first-ever medal in this event!@OlympicsCN | @WorldAquatics | #Swimming#Paris2024 | #Samsung… pic.twitter.com/xdzHVehmcE
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) July 31, 2024
Zhanle reached the finish line in 46.40 seconds – defeating his own previous world record by 0.40 seconds.
The Chinese swimmer was almost a full body length clear of the 2nd-placed Kyle Chalmers of Australia despite the short distance of the race. Romania’s David Popovici finished 3rd.
Pan was phenomenal in 2023 at the Asian Games and impressed during the relay at the Olympics. Tonight, the Chinese just destroyed everybody at the pool.
The gold medal takes China back to the top of the medal table at the Olympics, knocking hosts France to the 2nd place.
China has 19 medals overall compared to France’s 26, but the Asian country has 9 gold medals – 1 more than the hosts.