Zhang Yufei (Chinese:张雨霏;pinyin:Zhāng Yǔfēi; born 19 April 1998) is a Chinese competitiveswimmer who specializes in sprint freestyle and butterfly events.[1] Considered one of the most promising swimming in the international scene, she produced a tally of forty-three medals (eighteen gold medals, eight silver medals, and seventeen bronze medals) in her swimming career, spanning the Youth Olympics, Asian Games, World Championships and the Summer Olympics. She currently holds the record for most Olympic medals for a Chinese athlete. In 2023, she was named as themost valuable player in the women's division, in the2022 Asian Games inHangzhou.[3]
Born inXuzhou (Jiangsu), Zhang began swimming at the age of four partly because of the encouragement and influence of her mother, who acted as her personal coach. Two years later, she started training professionally as a member of the Jiangsu Swimming Team, and eventually held numerous records for her age group. As more records followed, Zhang's rapid improvement culminated on her major debut in an international sporting event at the age of fourteen, when she beat 2008 Olympic championLiu Zige for the gold medal in the 200 m butterfly at the 2012 FINA World Cup meet inBeijing.[4] The following year, she was selected for China's national swimming team.[5]
Zhang's international debut came as a member of the host nation China at the2014 Summer Youth Olympics inNanjing, where she achieved a total of five medals: three golds and two silver. Zhang started off the competition with a powerful butterfly split of 58.56 in thegirls' 4 × 100 m medley relay that tremendously helped her Chinese foursome break the junior world record (4:03.58) for the gold medal. On the same night, she managed a strong swim to take the silver in the200 m butterfly with a time of 2:08.22, finishing farther behind Hungary'sLiliána Szilágyi by less than two seconds.[6] In thegirls' 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, Zhang posted a third leg split in 54.09 until her host nation's foursome celebrated again with another relay victory in 3:41.19.[7][8] On 22 August, Zhang relegated to her second silver in the100 m butterfly at 57.95, narrowly losing the race again to Szilagyi by almost three tenths of a second. Despite missing out her first individual gold, Zhang and her teammates Li Guangyuan, He Yun, and Yu Hexin powered their stretch to grab another relay title for the Chinese squad in themixed 4 × 100 m medley (3:49.33).[9]
One month later, at the2014 Asian Games inIncheon, South Korea, Zhang set a 54.10 split on the third leg to put the Chinese squad ahead to a marvelous victory in the women's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, with a time of 3:37.25.[10]
At the2015 FINA World Championships inKazan, Russia, Zhang swam her two finals on the fifth night of the competition with forty minutes in between. First, she lowered her own junior world record with 2:06.51 to take home her individual bronze in the200 m butterfly.[11][12] Forty minutes later, Zhang set a third leg split of 1:58.73 to deliver the Chinese foursome a bronze medal in thewomen's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay with a combined time of 7:49.10.[11]
On 22 August 2018, Zhang won the Women's 200 m butterfly gold medal at the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia with 2:06.61.[13]
On 25 July 2021, Zhang went 55.64 to win silver in the Women's 100 m butterfly at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics behind Maggie Macneil, who went 55.59.
On 28 July 2021, Zhang broke theOlympic record and theworld record in the Women's 200 m butterfly and the Women's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay respectively, winning the gold medals in both events.[14]
On 24 July 2023, Zhang won the women's 100 m butterfly gold medal at the 2023 Fukuoka World Aquatics Championships.[15]
At the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, Zhang topped the podium in the women's individual 50 m freestyle,[16] 50 m butterfly,[17] 100 m butterfly[18] and 200 m butterfly,[19] while also contributing to her national women's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay and mixed 4 × 100 m medley relay gold medals, securing 6 golds in all.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Zhang Yufei's 55.64 butterfly-leg swim in theMixed4 × 100 m Medley Relay event helped her team beat theprevious world record time of 3:37.58 set by Great Britain in the event at the Tokyo Olympics with a time of 3:37.55, however the U.S. swim team achieved an even-faster new world record time of 3:37.43 and beat Zhang and her team for the gold medal in the event.[20][21] Zhang Yufei topped the list of most medals won by a competing swimmer in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games with a total count of 6 medals (5 bronze & 1 silver).[22]
| Meet | 50 free | 50 fly | 100 fly | 200 fly | 4×100 free | 4×200 free | 4×100 medley | 4×100 mixed medley |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AG 2014 |  | |||||||
| WC 2015 |  | | ||||||
| OG 2016 | 6th | |||||||
| WC 2017 | 17th | 8th | 5th | 6th | 6th | | ||
| AG 2018 |  | | DSQ | | ||||
| WC 2019 | 12th | 13th | 26th | 5th | ||||
| OG 2020 | WD | | | | 4th | | ||
| WC 2022 | 5th | | | | 4th | 6th | 6th | |
| WC 2023 | | | | DNS | | 4th | | |
| AG 2022 | | | | | | | ||
| OG 2024 | | | | | | | ||
| WC 2025 | 4th | | |
| Meet | 400 free | 50 fly | 100 fly | 200 fly | 4×50 free | 4×100 free | 4×100 medley | 4×50 mixed medley |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCW 2014 | | 4th | 5th | 10th | ||||
| SCW 2016 | | 5th | 4th | |||||
| SCW 2018 | 17th | WD | 7th | | 11th | |||
| SCW 2021 | 5th | WD | | 4th | 5th | | ||
| SCW 2022 | | DNS | 5th | 5th |
| Event | Time | Meet | Date | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 m freestyle | 24.15 | 2023 World Aquatics Championships | July 30, 2023 | |
| 100 m freestyle | 52.90 | 2020 Chinese National Swimming Championships 2021 Chinese National Swimming Championships | September 27, 2020 May 4, 2021 | |
| 200 m freestyle | 1.57.22 | 2021 Chinese National Swimming Championships | May 2, 2021 | |
| 400 m freestyle | 4.07.72 | 2015 Chinese National Swimming Championships | April 9, 2015 | |
| 800 m freestyle | 8.51.91 | 2012 Chinese National Swimming Championships | September 22, 2012 | |
| 50 m butterfly | 25.05 | 2023 World Aquatics Championships | July 29, 2023 | AS,NR |
| 100 m butterfly | 55.62 | 2020 Chinese National Swimming Championships | September 29, 2020 | AS,NR |
| 200 m butterfly | 2.03.86 | 2020 Summer Olympics | July 29, 2021 | Former OR |
| Event | Time | Meet | Date | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 m freestyle | 23.76 | 2022 World Championships | December 15, 2022 | NR |
| 100 m freestyle | 53.21 | 2022 Chinese National Swimming Championships | October 29, 2022 | |
| 200 m freestyle | 1.55.26 | 2016 World Cup | September 30, 2016 | |
| 400 m freestyle | 3.59.51 | 2014 World Championships | December 5, 2014 | |
| 50 m butterfly | 24.71 | 2022 World Championships | December 14, 2022 | AS,NR |
| 100 m butterfly | 55.46 | 2022 Chinese National Swimming Championships | October 29, 2022 | |
| 200 m butterfly | 2.03.01 | 2021 World Championships | December 17, 2021 | |
| 100 m individual medley | 1.08.80 | 2017 World Cup | October 5, 2017 | |
| 400 m individual medley | 4.46.30 | 2014 World Cup | October 25, 2014 |
Key: NR = National Record; AS = Asian Record; OR = Olympic Record
China's Zhang had earlier won gold in the 200m butterfly... China took the title after holding off a late charge by America's Katie Ledecky, who threatened an incredible comeback during the final leg... The team of Yang Junxuan, Zhang Yufei, Li Bingjie and Tang Muhan touched in 7 minutes, 40.33 seconds ahead of the United States (7:40.73) and Australia (7:41.29).
The U.S. clocked 3:37.43, with China just behind at 3:37.55, both marginally quicker than the world record set by Great Britain three years earlier in Tokyo, while Australia was plenty elite in a bronze-medal performance...
The United States won the swimming mixed 4 x 100m medley relay gold medal at Paris 2024 on Saturday, 3 August, recording a world record time of 3:37.43. The People's Republic of China grabbed silver with a time of 3:37.55, followed by bronze medallists Australia with a time of 3:38.76. The previous world record of 3:37.58 was set by Great Britain at Tokyo 2020, where Team USA finished in fifth. Team GB finished in seventh in Saturday's final. China and Australia also placed second and third, respectively, at Tokyo 2020.
China's Zhang Yufei, above, leaves Paris with the most Olympic swimming medals. She won 5 bronze and 1 silver for 6 total medals. - Archive photo via Jack Spitser
| Preceded by | Mixed 4 x 100-meter medley relay world record-holder 1 October 2020 – 31 July 2021 | Succeeded by Great Britain |
| Preceded by | 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay world record-holder 29 July 2021 – 31 July 2022 | Succeeded by Australia |
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Asian Games champions in women's50 m freestyle | |
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Asian Games champions in women's50 m butterfly | |
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Asian Games champions in women's100 m butterfly | |
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Asian Games champions in women's200 m butterfly | |
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Asian Games Champions in 4 × 100 m mixed medley relay | |
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