China's Pan Zhanle had a cool reception from swimming fans in Paris La Defense Arena on Wednesday, even after breaking his world record in the 100-metre freestyle.
PARIS It would be nice to believe, right? Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle obliterated the Olympic field in the men's 100-metre freestyle Wednesday night. That the 19-year-old Pan won wasn't a shock; he has been good for a few years, and holds the world record. He nearly got knocked out in the heats here, sure, but he won the semis.
How he won gold was unbelievable, however you want to interpret that. Former Canadian freestyle sprint medallist Brent Hayden said it was one of the most technically perfect races he has ever seen, and he teaches swimming.
And if it was clean - a sweet summer child's statement, too often, in the world of elite sport - it's one of the most astonishing swims ever.
Pan finished in a world-record 46.40 seconds; second place was 1.08 seconds behind, third 1.09, fourth 1.10.
This is usually one of the closest races in the world. The winning margin in the final in Tokyo was six one-hundredths of a second; in Rio, 22 one-hundredths; in London, one one-hundredth. By percentage, Pan's margin of victory over second-place Kyle Chalmers of Australia was bigger than Katie Ledecky's customary valley in the 1,500-metre freestyle.
So, uh. His competitors were pretty classy about getting smashed into orbit, depending on how much you like to impose subtext.
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