The 2024 Chinese National Swimming Championships saw the first Asian Record being broken in the women’s 100m breaststroke event. 20-year-old Tang Qianting swam the fastest time of her life, finishing in 1:04.68 and breaking the 1:05 barrier for the first time. She had previously held the Chinese national record of 1:05.27, which she set at the World Championships in Doha earlier that year. Tang’s performance tonight also surpassed the previous Asian Record of 1:05.19 set by Japan’s Reona Aoki at the 2022 Japanese World Championships Trials.
Comparing Tang’s swim to the current world record of 1:04.13 set by Lilly King in 2017, Tang was quicker on the way out. This performance now makes Tang the 5th-fastest swimmer in history for the women’s LCM 100 Breaststroke event.
In tonight’s race, Yang Chang took silver behind Tang with a time of 1:06.23, while Yu Jingyao earned the bronze in 1:07.95. Both Tang and Yang’s times met the World Aquatics Olympic Qualification Time of 1:06.79, making them eligible for consideration for the Paris 2024 Olympics.