Record breakers lay down gauntlet

"So I don't want to set too many goals for the worlds. The national meet is a test of the past two months' training. The coach and I have more to analyze ahead of the worlds, and we are aiming to produce better results in Melbourne."

Other swimmers to lower national records in the 25m pool last week included Qin Haiyang (men's 50m and 100m breaststroke — 26.12 and 56.31), Zhao Jun'er (men's 200m butterfly — 1:49.61), and Yu Yiting (women's 100m individual medley — 58.27).

"I'm focusing more on the short distances this year," said Yu, who won 200m medley silver at last year's worlds. "My goal is simply to be better than last year's result. The runner-up finish was a regret and I was so close to the gold medalist. So a focus of training has been leveling up my physical strength in order to be ready for tough tests at the worlds."

Team China won seven medals, including four gold, at last year's world short-course championships in Abu Dhabi to rank sixth in the medal table. At the 2018 edition in Hangzhou, Team China ranked fifth with 13 medals in total, including three gold.

shifutian@chinadaily.com.cn