简体中文
Chinese sports fans woke up Friday to an exciting news that swimming world championships debutante Ning Zetao grabbed the gold of the blue-ribbon men's 100m freestyle in 47.84 seconds.
As Ning described the win as 'crazy', the first in this distance for Asian swimmers since 1973, the news soon went viral on China's portal and social media.
"His sprint of the last five meters was killing me! I underestimated his capability," said Huang Jiajia from Zhejiang. "He is just at the golden age of 22. Go Ning, see you in Rio."
Ning, who already has a large legion of fans thanks to his good looks and politeness, is becoming more popular after proving he is much more than just appearance.
"I found that our swimmers are so polite and modest. I like them better and better. A big LIKE for Ning," said an internet user 'Go wherever you want' from Liaoning.
Ning's victory underlined China's rise in the men's pool, the sprint race in particular. Olympic and world champion Sun Yang has already showed domination in freestyle events, clinching men's 400m and 800m titles here.
China has made breakthrough in swimming in recent years. At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Zhang Lin won the first Olympic swimming medal for Chinese male swimmers. At the 2009 Rome worlds, Zhang became the first Chinese man to claim a gold medal at world championships. At the 2012 London Games, Sun Yang won China's first Olympic gold in men's swimming. And in Kazan, Ning won the most important gold in pool for China.
"It's crazy!" Ning said right after he won the race.
Ning, a lieutenant in the Chinese navy, saluted the national flag during the medal ceremony. "I didn't expect the gold medal. I just want to say I'm Chinese," he said.
"Winning the gold is like a dream," said Ning, Asian record holder of the event. "I made it. And I show the world that Chinese men can also win the short distance swimming."
Ning, who won both 50m and 100m free golds at the 2014 Asian Games, was the first Asian swimmer to make the men's 100m free final at worlds since 1973.
"Just getting to the final was a big achievement. I didn't even think about a medal. When I touched the wall I didn't realize I had won," said Ning.
Australian star Cameron McEvoy, who produced the fastest time in the semifinals, had to settle for silver in 47.95 and Argentina's Federico Grabich took the bronze in 48.12. Olympic champion Nathan Adrian of the United States only finished seventh in 48.31.
Ning's lethal weapon is second-half sprint which played a key role tonight. He closely followed Canadian Santo Condorelli at the 50m mark and made a strong sprint in the last meters.
Ning started swimming at the age of eight in a bid to improve his health only. But his quick learning of different strokes and techniques attracted the attention of local coach Guo Hongyan.
At the beginning, Ning's specialty was breaststroke and he had focused on individual medley for many years. But a chronic bone calcification in his right knee forced him to switch to short distance freestyle later.
In 2011, Ning suffered a heavy blow when he was suspended one year after testing positive for clenbuterol.
Ning overcame the incident and came back strongly after he served out the suspension. In 2014, he was awarded the Best Male Athlete of the Year by CCTV Sports Award thanks to his stellar performance in the Incheon Asian Games.
Now, Ning is eyeing the Rio Olympics. "Now I can think about the Rio Olympic Games," he said. "I hope I can achieve good results in Rio." Enditem
