Ning Zetao leads emerging Chinese swim stars in strong show in heats at world championships
The first Asian swimmer to break the 48-second barrier edged favourites Cam McEvoy and Vladimir Morozov in Kazan Arena
Ning Zetao edged favourites Cam McEvoy and Vladimir Morozov to lead the 100 metre freestyle preliminaries at the swimming world championships on Wednesday – one of several strong performances by emerging Chinese competitors.
Ning won the penultimate heat of swimming’s signature race in 48.11 seconds.
McEvoy, the top Australian with two-time defending champion James Magnussen out injured, won the final heat in 48.33. Morozov, the California-based Russian, qualified third in 48.46.
The hardest part of this series is going to be the semi-final again, just like the 200 ... it’s going to be very quick
Ther Australian McEvoy placed eighth in the 200m freestyle a night earlier.
“It’s standard after any final you come up a bit flat in the morning,” McEvoy said. “I’ve had a lot of practice being able to back up after a solid 200 programme ... The hardest part of this series is going to be the semi-final again, just like the 200 ... it’s going to be very quick.”
Olympic champion Nathan Adrian advanced safely in seventh, while his American teammate, Jimmy Feigen, the silver medallist at worlds two years ago, failed to qualify.
