Chinese swimmer Jiao Liuyang competes in the women's 200m butterfly at the National Championships on Friday. Jiao might be China's best hope for gold in the event after she defeated Liu Zige, who won gold in the 2008 Games in Beijing. Jiao, who's won every major title except the Olympics, said she still has room for improvement before the Games. Cui Meng / China Daily

Jiao Liuyang gets the best of Liu Zige again, but she's not ready to declare herself the better swimmer

Despite two consecutive major wins over compatriot Liu Zige, world champion swimmer Jiao Liuyang isn't ready to declare victory.

"I have a clear picture of myself. I am a chaser, who's always been trailing (Liu) even though I won again," Jiao said after defeating Liu to claim the women's 200m butterfly gold medal at the National Championships on Friday.

The event, which serves as the Olympic trials, is being held in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province.

It was Jiao's second consecutive victory over Liu following her World Championships triumph last year in Shanghai, but the 20-year-old thinks she can do better.

"The top finish is good, but I am actually not quite satisfied with the result," Jiao said after clocking 2 min, 5.18 sec, to clinch the gold.

After an intensive 10-week training camp in Australia, Jiao has improved her aerobic capacity under the guidance of Denis Cotterell, the coach who steered Australian Grant Hackett to gold in the 1500m freestyle at the Sydney and Athens Olympic Games.

It's still not enough for the ambitious Jiao.

"I am still not at my top form, my strength and the speed (of my strokes) are lacking after the Australia session. I still need a lot of work to improve the details," she said.

Liu, the 2008 Beijing Olympic gold medalist, finished third in 2:07.37, which is 5.56 sec slower than her world record from the National Games three years ago. Young swimmer Gong Jie edged Liu to grab silver with a 1.99-sec advantage.

Emerging on the world stage after a fourth-place finish at the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne, Jiao was expected to be China's best hope in the event in Beijing.

Instead, she watched underdog Liu finish on top of the podium, even though Jiao's own result smashed the former world record of Australian Jessicah Schipper.

From then on, the rivalry has been billed as "the battle to be China's butterfly queen" by the media, and the duo began its long-dominance in the 200m at major events.

Returning to Shaoxing, where the 2008 trials were held, Jiao said she's improved her toughness.

"I wasn't as mentally strong as I am," she said. "But now, I've grown a lot in my mind and it helps me to perform consistently at a high level."

Having claimed all the major-event trophies except the Olympics, a gold medal in London would fulfill the only empty space in Jiao's award cabinet.

Still, she remains cautious.

"For me, it's only the time to think about qualifying for the Games, not to predict anything," she said. "I can't guarantee any results now. I just want to do my best in the following three months to improve."

After earning a spot in London in the 200m, Jiao also reached the Olympic A standard in the 100m after winning the silver medal at the Shaoxing meet. It could be another chance at gold.

However, budding star world bronze medalist Lu Ying - who narrowly beat out Jiao and Liu to win the 100m - has suddenly become a legitimate threat.

Lu also claimed the 50m and showed potential in shorter distant events.

Still, Jiao was upbeat about the challenge while stressing she still plans to remain competitive in the 100m.

"Actually, her (Lu's) result is not so good (even though she won). We just finished our exhausting winter training and we both are out of our best condition," Jiao said. "Who's the better swimmer in the 100m? It's not the time to judge it yet, not until we both reach our peak form later."

According to coach Liu Haitao, Jiao will focus on improving her underwater technique and overall condition in domestic camp leading up to the Olympics.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com

(China Daily 04/08/2012 page7)