China’s Pan Zhanle set a new world record in the men’s 100m freestyle, winning gold at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday with a time of 46.40 seconds. This performance surpassed his own previous record of 46.80 seconds, which he set in February in Doha.
Australia’s Kyle Chalmers, the 2016 Rio Olympics gold medalist, claimed the silver medal, finishing 1.08 seconds behind Pan. Romanian swimmer David Popovici took bronze, adding to his impressive haul in Paris. Popovici had already secured gold in the 200m freestyle.
Pan’s victory marks a significant achievement for China, providing a boost after a series of disappointing results in the swimming events at the Paris Games. He is the first Chinese swimmer to hold the world record in this event and the first to win Olympic gold in the 100m freestyle, which is considered the sport’s premier race.
For Chalmers, the silver was a tough result, as he had previously finished second in Tokyo and had hoped to reclaim his title from the 2016 Games.
