Li Bingjie snatches 1,500m freestyle gold in Chinese National Swimming Challenge

SHIJIAZHUANG -- Li Bingjie snatched the women's 1,500m freestyle swimming gold in the New Year Chinese National Swimming Challenge here on Sunday with her personal best of 15:52.31.

Had been absent from competitions for roughly 18 months, Li competed in the so-called lower group but turned out faster than any players in the upper group.

Wang Jianjiahe, who was in the upper group, finished the second in 15:59.70.

"I'm a bit nervous watching the performance of other contestants. I got lots of encouragement and congratulations from others, which boosted my confidence for my future career," said Li.

In the men's 1,500m freestyle, Cheng Long claimed the first place in 15:03.39, his second gold during the Challenge.

Yang Junxuan dominated the women's 100m freestyle in 54.13 seconds for her second gold at the Challenge, while He Junyi ranked first in the men's 100m freestyle in 48.57.

Xu Jiayu and Peng Xuwei won the men's and women's 200m backstroke at 1:58.53 and 2:08.01 respectively.

"The winter training has worked up my energy. I can achieve better time after getting fully prepared," said Peng.

In the men's 400m individual medley, Wang Shun took the first place in 4:11.85. Yu Yiting won the women's 400m IM in 4:37.62.

In the mixed 4x100m medley relay, Xu Jiayu, Yan Zibei, Zhang Yufei and Yang Junxuan won the gold in 3:41.95.

"The time is in our expectation, considering our mutual trust and sufficient communications before the event," said Xu.