Tokyo 2020, Asia Recap Day 2: Li Bingjie Makes History In 400 Free | SwimSwam

By Retta Race on SwimSwam

2020 TOKYO SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

• When: Pool swimming: Saturday, July 24 – Sunday, August 1, 2021
  • Open Water swimming: Wednesday, August 4 – Thursday, August 5, 2021
• Where: Olympic Aquatics Centre / Tokyo, Japan
• Heats: 7 PM / Semifinals & Finals: 10:30 AM (Local time)
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Li Bingjie Earns China’s First-Ever Women’s 400 Free Olympic Medal

While all eyes were on the dual unfolding in the women’s 400m freestyle final between American Katie Ledecky and Australian Ariarne Titmus, another milestone of a swim transpired en route to bronze.

China’s Li Bingjie raced her way to 3rd place in a time of 4:01.08 behind the aforementioned pair, with Titmus taking gold in 3:56.69 and Ledecky next in line in 3:57.36.

In doing so, 19-year-old Li not only broke the Asian continental record and Chinese national record, but she in fact became the first woman ever from her nation to win a medal of any color in this 400m free event at an Olympic Games.

Quick Hits

• 31-year-old Ryosuke Irie just missed out on the men’s 100m backstroke final, getting shut out of the top 8 by only .01. The 4-time Olympian will still have a chance in the 200m back later in the meet.
• Both Reona Aoki and Kanako Watanabe missed moving on from the women’s 100m breaststroke heats, with the former placing 19th and the latter 17th.
• Korea’s Hwang Sunwoo is still among the top male 200m freestyles for tomorrow’s final, with the 18-year-old owning the 6th fastest time of the semi-final in 1:45.53.
• China’s Zhang Yufei nabbed 100m fly silver behind winner Maggie MacNeil of Canada and ahead of bronze medalist Emma McKeon of Australia.
• Yan Zibei of China wound up 6th in the men’s 100m breaststroke, tying the United States’ Andrew Wilson in 58.99.

Continental & National Records Through Day 2

• Chinese Record in women’s 4x100m free relay – 3:34.76
• Chinese Record and Asian Record for Li Bingjie in 400m free 4:01.08
• World Junior Record and Korean Record for Hwang Sunwoo in the men’s 200m free heats – 1:44.62

Medals Table for Asia Through Day 2

Rank            Nation                                                  Gold       Silver          Bronze     Total       Total Rank

4

JAPAN

1

0

0

1

3

7    China	0	1	1	2

 

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