New wave churning up competition

Exciting young talent lighting up national championships

China's success in the pool looks set to continue, with a new breed of medal hopefuls making waves at the ongoing national championships in Taiyuan.

Teenage freestyle specialists Wang Jianjiahe and Li Bingjie are among the most exciting new talents.

The 15-year-old Wang edged 16-year-old Li to win the 1,500m in 15 min 53.01 sec－just 0.14 sec slower than Li's Asian record and a time which would have been good enough for a bronze medal at last year's world championships.

Wang first made the world sit up and take notice with dominant back- to-back wins in the 400m and 800m free at a meet in Atlanta, Georgia, last month.

"I still have to work harder and longer as a young swimmer and gain more big-time experiences," said Wang, who has dramatically improved her results since completing a training program in Los Angeles earlier this year.

Li exploded onto the international scene by winning two silver (800m, 4x200m) and a bronze (400m) in freestyle at last year's worlds in Budapest, particularly impressing in the 800 as she tailed five-time Olympic champion Katie Ledecky throughout.

Li's 2.78-second gap to Ledecky was the American's narrowest margin of victory in a race of 400m or longer at a major international meet since 2013.

Swimvortex.com hailed Li as a threat to Ledecky's dominance in distance free, and now Wang has joined the conversation.

The Chinese duo are relishing their duel as it spurs them on to quicker times.

"When I don't perform at my best she takes the lead. It's a good rivalry for both of us," said Li, who last November set a world junior record in the 400 by touching 3:59.41 to win gold at the Tokyo World Cup.

On the men's side, the young competition has forced Olympic champion Sun Yang to deliver his best at a domestic meet.

"I look at them and I feel like I'm seeing myself six or seven years ago," Sun said of his rivals in the men's 800m free after winning the title on Saturday.

"They've come up quickly and seem as hungry as I was back in the day. I feel relieved that we have some good reserve talent in this event."

Ji Xinjie, 20, clocked 7:59.46 to finish second behind Sun in the 800 free in Taiyuan, having bagged all four individual free silvers behind his idol at last year's National Games.

"I try to level up my training intensity, looking up to Sun as a role model," said Ji.

"I won't set my sights too high, but I will put my heart into a solid workout every day to hopefully follow Sun on international podiums."

China's golden haul at recent Olympics has prompted the sport's national governing body to invest more in training, logistics and scientific support for youth development.

Promising talent, such as Wang and Li, have been sent overseas to train under high-performance foreign coaches, including American Dave Salo and Australian Matt Brown.

New environments, international exposure and tougher competitions have proved an effective combination to improve the youngsters, said Cheng Hao, manager of the Chinese national team.

"Some young swimmers' progress should be attributed to the hours and mileage put in at the overseas camps," he said.

"The cooperation between our Chinese coaches and the foreign staff went really well in guiding them in the right and effective way."

After wrapping up the trials in Taiyuan, the national team will dispatch all swimmers selected to the Asian Games roster to four or five camps in the United States in late May, where they will continue preparing for the Indonesia Asiad, which opens on Aug 18.