ZHANG Zhanshuo, a freshman at Fudan’s School of Journalism, claimed the men’s 400-metre freestyle gold at the National Games in 3:42.82, smashing the world junior record.
This victory marks the first Games gold for the 18-year-old from Shandong, and the first-ever swimming gold for Fudan University.
As one of the rising stars in Chinese swimming, Zhang is seen as a promising figure for the nation’s freestyle program.
But he remains humble about his role. “I still need to learn a lot from the senior swimmers,” he said. “I still have many areas to improve. I’ll keep learning from them and stay modest.”
Zhang was born into a family of athletes—both parents were track-and-field competitors—and he plunged into the pool at 6, and was selected for the Shandong Provincial Squad in 2019.
ZHANG Zhanshuo (first from the left)
He won two relay golds at last year’s World Aquatics Championships and finished fourth in the 4x200m freestyle relay at the Olympics. In 2025, Zhang claimed the men’s 400m freestyle title at the National Championships, ranking third in China’s all-time standings for the event.
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Writer: Edward Turdmat
Editor: WANG Mengqi, LI Yijie
