MACAU, 3 November 2005 — Zhang Lin eclipsed the continental 1,500 freestyle record yesterday, quelling the short-lived challenge by Japanese swimmers to China’s domination at the 4th East Asian Games.
Overhauling South Korea’s Park Tae-hwan on the last strokes of the 30-lap race, Zhang timed 15 minutes, 00.27 seconds to wipe almost nine seconds off the Asian mark.
“I feel this is the best I’ve ever swum, and I’m very happy with the result,” said Zhang, who took 10 seconds off his previous best.
Olympic 110-meter hurdles champion Liu Xiang started China’s gold medal rush yesterday, capping a season stacked heavily with competitive and promotional commitments by winning his favored event in 13.21 seconds.
Now he wants to take a breather and reflect on the year he’s had since shooting to fame with his world record-equaling Olympic win at Athens.
Liu says he’s “mentally and physically exhausted.” He’ll be back to work quickly, though, with his sights on defending his Olympic title at home in 2008.
He’s not the only Chinese athlete with ambitions for Beijing.
