Hangzhou FINA Worlds draw to close as China ranks 5th

The closing ceremony of the 14th FINA World Swimming Championships is held in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, on Dec 16. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

The 14th FINA World Swimming Championships drew to a successful end with a stellar closing ceremony on Dec 16 as the Asian host country China ranked 5th with three golds, five silvers and five bronzes.

The United States again showed its dominance with a total of 36 podium presences (17 golds, 15 silvers and four bronzes) during the six-day international tournament, followed by Russia (6/5/3), Hungary (4/1/0) and the Netherlands (3/6/2).

Nine world records were shattered by the world's best short-course swimmers in the top-notch competition.

According to Xinhua, China's 16-year-old Wang Jianjiahe stole the spotlight by winning the 800m freestyle gold and 400m silver. She also helped the home team win the women's 4x200m freestyle on Saturday, breaking the Asian record.

The rising star, who made a mistake of swimming an extra 50m in the 800m heat, is considered the best medal hope for China at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

China's Olympic bronze medalist Wang Shun added a 200m medley gold to the country's total.

Backstroke specialist Xu Jiayu, the 100m world champion in Budapest, took the 100m silver, while 18-year-old Qin Haiyang claimed the men's 200m breast silver. China also won the women's 4x50m and 4x100m medley silvers.

China's swimming star Sun Yang, a Hangzhou native who only took part in the men's 4x200m freestyle, helped the team to finish third.

FINA President Dr. Julio C. Maglione praised the Championships and the work of the organizing committee, saying that Hangzhou is a dynamic and modern city where the world aquatics family had a memorable time.

"The Championships have definitively improved the strength of aquatics", Maglione said, who expressed his gratitude to the city of Hangzhou, to the China Swimming Association and to the organising committee for their support and enthusiasm.

"We are impressed by the professional hosting by Hangzhou for the Championships and are looking forward to visiting the city again", said FINA Executive Director Cornel Marculescu.

As the biggest international sports event that has taken place in Hangzhou to date, the aquatics gala tested Hangzhou's comprehensive ability to run such an international sports event, said a local official, adding that they are confident they will pull off a high-standard Asian Games in 2022.

The FINA World Swimming Championships (25m), which is held in a 25 meter pool, was first held in Palma de Mallorca, Spain in 1993. In December 2014, Hangzhou beat off competition from the UAE's Abu Dhabi and Peru's Lima to become the second city to host the event in China, after Shanghai in 2006.

The next World Championships will be held in Gwangju, Korea.