Global EditionASIA 中文双语Français
Sports
Home / Sports / Swimming

Man of the hour

When called upon by his nation, swimmer Sun Jiajun, knowing it was his time, grasped the opportunity with both hands

By XING WEN | China Daily | Updated: 2025-05-06 09:33
Share
Share - WeChat
Young Chinese swimmer Sun Jiajun is taking each moment as it comes, tirelessly working in the pool and hoping to deliver more major international honors for the national team. AFP

The blue hour — that fleeting period just before sunrise when the sun lingers below the horizon, its scattered light painting the sky in deep cobalt — is 24-year-old Chinese swimmer Sun Jiajun's favorite time of day.

That transitional magic, where darkness gives way to dawn, mirrors the defining moment of his career: the men's 4x100m medley relay final at the Paris Olympics last August.

Originally a backup, Sun earned his spot in the men's medley relay after outperforming teammate Wang Changhao — who clocked 52.37 seconds in the 100m butterfly — with a time of 51.85 seconds three days earlier, as Wang battled fever-induced fatigue.

As the relay's third leg, Sun even skipped breaths in the final stretch to unleash a personal-best 51.19-second butterfly split.

"I told myself to go all out, to fight like there was no tomorrow. I had to gain more time for the fourth leg, Pan Zhanle," Sun recalled.

In the end, the quartet — backstroker Xu Jiayu, breaststroke world champion Qin Haiyang, Sun, and freestyle anchor Pan — shattered Team USA's 64-year Olympic dominance in the event, clinching gold.

1 2 3 4 Next   >>|

Most Popular

Highlights

What's Hot
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US