The results at the Rizhao Water Sports Games in Shandong Province - which witnssed its first national record today - are now being sent to FINA each day after SwimNews brought the poor flow of information to the attention of FINA Bureau member Zhang Qiuping.
The CSA has scant facility for translating Chinese results instantly and would normally not have to do so but Zhang Qiuping learned today from meet manager in Rizhao, Yuan Haoran, that the Xinhua reporter who usually writes on swimming and can do so in English had been assigned to report the 1st Sportaccord World Combat Games in Beijing instead. That explained the "uncomfortable situation" of a lack of reliable information out of Rizhao, Zhang Qiuping explained.
Xinhua today reported the top three results in all events in Rizhao, its first file of the week on the event.
Zhang Qiuping pledged to have the results of each day's events in Rizhao sent immediately to FINA for inclusion in the world rankings and would also "encourage the media to have more stories in English so as to provide more information domestically and internationally" in the interests of promoting swimming and further understanding between China and the wider swim world. No-one can accuse the Chinese of failing to respond to events. Good for them.
Meanwhile, the third day of racing witnessed the first national mark of the meet: Zhang Fenglin clocked 1:57.86 to take down the 2005 standard of doping-disgraced Ouyang Kunpeng by 0.05sec. Zhang had a lonely victory: silver went to Cheng Feiyi in 2:01.18, with bronze for Wang Chengxiang in 2:01.27. Zhang, 17 this year, made his breakthrough at the China Games last October with a 1:58.17 effort.
The 200m butterfly, in the absence of Liu Zige, brought a second title for Jiao Liuyang, who was just 0.15sec shy of her season best (and world 2010 best) on 2:05.61, well up on Zhu Jiani, 2:08.24, and Zheng Rongrong, 2:09.26. Another strong effort was that of Li Xuanxu: the 400 IM crown on her head, she added the 400m free title in 4:05.41.
Gao Chang, among the many who set world records in the 50m backstroke in shiny suit season(s), clocked the best time in the world in 2010 with a 27.54 victory over Zhao Jing's 27.74.
Among men, Xie Zhi took the 100m breaststroke in 1:01.52 and Lu Zhiwu claimed the freestyle dash in 22.35. The session closed with Shanghai men winning the 4x200m free relay in 7:18.20.
Results at a glance (and the times are now reliable, with no alternative versions offered):
Men
50m freestyle:
- Lu Zhiwu 22.35
- Shi Yunqiang 22.58
- Shi Tengfei 22.64
200m backstroke
- Zhang Fenglin 1:57.86 (national record)
- Cheng Feiyi 2:01.18
- Wang Chengxiang 2:01.27
100m breaststroke:
- Xie Zhi 1:01.52
- Ma Xiang 1:01.86
- Chen Cheng/Wang Shuai 1:02.31 (shared bronze)
4x200 freestyle
- Shanghai 7:18.20
- Jiangsu 7:20.78
- Tianjin 7:24.48
Women
400m freestyle:
- Li Xuanxu 4:05.41
- Shao Yiwen 4:09.46
- Liu Jing 4:10.15
50m backstroke:
- Gao Chang 27.54
- Zhao Jing 27.74
- Xu Tianlongzi 28.33
200m butterfly:
- Jiao Liaoyang 2:05.61
- Zhu Jiani 2:08.24
- Zheng Rongrong 2:09.26
