Remarkable time by China's Liu Zige: Shaves over 5 seconds in one year from 200M Butterfly to win gold medal and demolish world record

Swimming a 2:09.45 less than a year ago did not hold back teenage Chinese 200m butterfly gold medalist Liu Zige.  The swimmer recorded a remarkable 2:04.19 in winning the gold last night in Beijing.  Zige demolished the world record held by Jessicah Schipper. (AFP) (Swim News link)  (she also swam a 2:09 this spring)

It was a remarkable achievement in the pool by two women who have done little before, with Liu clocking two minutes 04.18 seconds to shave over a second off the previous world record held by Australian Jessicah Schipper.

Jiao's time was also under the old world mark, leaving Schipper to trail home in third place.

"I didn't feel pressure before the competition, I tried to relax," said Liu.

"And in the race I just swam at my own pace, not caring about others. My coach said to me that we will have two Chinese swimmers in the final, so you don't need to force yourself to win gold, you just need to try your best."

It was China's first swimming gold of the Games and only its third since its prime at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, when it won four.

Since then the squad has had to fight the stigma of doping scandals and managed just two titles in the following three Games -- one in 1996 and one in 2004.

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Liu won the event in a staggering 2min.04.16s, an amazing 1.22s inside the mark Schipper has set back in 2006 at the Pan Pacific Championships in Canada, to claim China's first gold medal in the pool at these Games.

Schipper swam a 2:06.26.  So in 2 years she swam 0.86 slower from her old record of 2:05.40, while Liu improved by 5.29 seconds in less than a year.

Interesting.  Here are the best 200M fly times in 2008.  Where were the Chinese before this?

Athletes to watch:
Jessicah Schipper (World record-holder)
Yuko Nakanishi (Fastest in 2008)
Aurore Mongel (Second-fastest in 2008)

Australian competitors:
Jessicah Schipper
Samantha Hamill

Current Olympic champion:
Otylia Jedrzejczak (Poland) 2:06.05

World record:
Jessicah Schipper (Australia) 2:05.40 August 17, 2006

Top-ranked performers:

1. Yuko Nakanishi (Japan) 2:06.38 April 15, 2008
2. Aurore Mongel (France) 2:06.59 March 23, 2008
3. Jemma Lowe (UK) 2:06.64 March 31, 2008
4. Emese Kovacs (Hungary) 2:06.71 March 23, 2008
6. Jessicah Schipper (Australia) 2:06.82 March 22, 2008

Comments

[ECM]

I see one of two possibilities:

1. She's obviously doping via any number of methods.

2. The Yang-tze is actually a font of mutant powers a la Marvel Comics' X-Men--the Communists simply spread the rumor that it's horrific for your health to dissuade others from imbibing in its gene-mutating properties.

[OlympicWatcher]

So Schipper, the reigning world champion, came in third, swimming 2:06.26, which is 0.86 slower than the world record she’d established two years before. Amazingly however, Liu who was virtually unheard of in the pool, was able to improve by more than five seconds in less than a year. The final nail was placed into the Beijing Olympics Integrity’ coffin when after the race, Schipper was blood-tested, but the two Chinese women were not.

How has the world been so quick to forget the numerous doping scandals the Chinese swimmers have faced since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics? How naïve does China think the rest of the world really is? The 2008 Beijing Olympics have successfully managed to bring ‘farce’ to a whole new level.

[Methuselah]

"...after the race, Schipper was blood-tested, but the two Chinese women were not."

Where did you see this reported? I'd like to learn more.
Thanks

[jerrm]

"...after the race, Schipper was blood-tested, but the two Chinese women were not."

Yes, indeed, I would very much like for you to produce some evidence on this before I call xenophobia. And while we're drudging up the past here, perhaps we should question all of the German athletes as well for the doping they did back then? I'm more inclined to believe that Liu is a product of Project 119 than a cheater. I will be outraged if the Chinese managed to elude the blood testing...but otherwise what you just wrote sounds like sour grapes and paranoia.

[mickey]

http://tinyurl.com/5bfdy9

Now they accusing China of buying coaching secrets! sour grapes indeed LOL

On the other hand one can see chinese coaches with other national teams all over the world and that is ok by these people's standards, double standards actually.

[peter nexus]

who cares its all a bit dopey is it not the olympics

[College Term Papers]

Thanks for posting this, was exactly what I was looking for, thanks.

[anabolic steroids]

They'll never win the war on drugs.

[cheap christian louboutin]

Thanks for sharing!This is really my very first time here , great looking blog.