On June 18, the Swimming Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China announced the list of athletes selected for all aquatics disciplines at the Paris Olympics.
Nine World Champions were chosen to compete in the artistic swimming events, including three Vice-Olympic Champions Feng Yu, Wang Qianyi, and Xiao Yanning, as well as Tokyo Olympic reserve Chang Hao.
The athletes selected to represent the People’s Republic of China this summer are as follows:
- Chang Hao (27)
- Feng Yu (24)
- Wang Ciyue (24)
- Wang Liuyi (27)
- Wang Qianyi (27)
- Xiang Binxuan (22)
- Xiao Yanning (26)
- Zhang Yayi (27)
- Reserve: Cheng Wentao (26)
This all-female Chinese Olympic team is undoubtedly the most experienced and most decorated team heading into the Paris Olympics, with the eight main athletes boasting at least seven world titles each.
The nation also notably claimed gold in all five Olympic routines at the last World Championships in Doha, continuing to showcase superb execution, technique, precision, height and artistry during this entire Olympic cycle.
Tokyo Olympic silver medalists Feng Yu – the current team captain –, Wang Qianyi, and Xiao Yanning bring a wealth of experience to this squad. Joined by Chang Hao, who had been the reserve three years ago, these athletes have been fixtures of the national team since at least 2016.
Chang, Feng and Xiao come in as eight-time World Champions, having earned golds across four World Championships (2017, 2022, 2023, 2024). All three also won gold in team at the 2018 and 2023 Asian Games.
Xiao Yanning has actually been part of China’s senior national team since the 2015 World Championships, where she won a silver medal in the free combination event as the youngest athlete on the Chinese team. Ever since, she has earned 16 world medals in total over six World Championships, and is one of the most decorated athletes on this squad. Chang Hao and Feng Yu are also five-time world silver medalists.
Wang Qianyi is a 10-time World champion and 15-time world medalist overall, having competed at the 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024 World Championships. She is also a three-time gold medalist at the Asian Games (2018, 2023).
Qianyi only took part in the team events at the last Olympics, but will this time compete in the duet as well alongside her twin Wang Liuyi. These Paris Games will be Liuyi’s first Olympic appearance, as she missed out on Tokyo because of an injury.
Much like her sister, Liuyi is a 10-time World champion, three-time Asian Games gold medalist, and 13-time world medalist overall, competing internationally since 2017 and in four World Championships.
It will also be the first Olympic Games for Wang Ciyue, Xiang Binxuan and Zhang Yayi. They all competed at the 2022, 2023 and 2024 World Championships and are seven-time World Champions across the team events, contributing to every routine every time. They also were part of the squad that won team gold at the 2023 Asian Games.
While Wang and Xiang only joined the senior team ahead of the 2022 season, Zhang made her senior international debut in 2019. That season, she swam alongside Shi Haoyu at the Gwangju World Championships, where they placed fifth, as well as in three World Series stops. She then moved to the team and has been focusing on these events ever since.
Cheng Wentao was named the reserve. Cheng has mostly featured in the mixed duet over the years, recently winning back-to-back golds in the free event at the 2023 and 2024 World Championships. Competing on the senior international stage since 2019, she is overall a four-time World Champion, seven-time world medalist, and a team gold medalist at the Asian Games in 2023.
The People’s Republic of China has won silver at the last three Olympic Games (2012, 2016, 2020) in team, after winning bronze – the country’s first Olympic medal – in 2008. The duet claimed silver in 2020 and 2016, and bronze in 2012.
ARTICLE BY CHRISTINA MARMET
Cover photo: Deepbluemedia
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