Taking a splashy new approach

With four pairs competing in mixed duets at the recently concluded Beijing stop of the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series and the national championships, China's male artistic swimmers are on the rise and embracing a promising future.

Male artistic swimmers competed for the first time at the 2015 world championships, but it wasn't until two years later that China sent its first one to the international stage. Shi Haoyu, paired with Zhang Yayi, finished third in the technical routine mixed duet in 2017.

With male artistic swimmers gaining a higher profile, Liu Zhongpei, 19, and Jiang Jiawei, 16, both converted divers, as well as He Wenjin, a former water polo player, competed at the national championships in Beijing.

"We are gaining prominence at the right time. I hope all males who want to learn artistic swimming keep their hopes, keep going. They will find that the more you try, the luckier you are," said Shi.

"If you gave me a second chance, I would still have chosen artistic swimming. You'll never know the beauty of the sport until you try it. I have no words to describe it."

Compared to the world's top swimmers from Russia and Italy, Chinese competitors have a lot to improve in strength, technique and performance.

"Shi has a long way to go. He is very young and I'm expecting a great future for him," said national team coach Wang Fang. "He made a big leap in the past year and I think he'll make a breakthrough at this year's world championships."

This marked the first time Liu and Jiang competed at the national championships, but they bagged titles in mixed technical routine and mixed free routine respectively.

He Wenjin collected two silver medals with He Qiaoyan. The former water polo player said "artistic swimming is a touchstone and has a very bright future".

Coach Wang concluded: "Although the four male swimmers did not train for a long time, they all have enormous potential. I believe the emergence of excellent Chinese male artistic swimmers will continue."

Xinhua