Wang Shun ( zh, s=汪顺, t=汪順, hp=Wāng Shùn; born 11 February 1994) is a Chinese competitive

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

. A versatile medley swimmer, he became the first Asian male swimmer to win a gold medal at the men's 200m individual medley at the Olympic Games when he came in first at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

men's 200 metre individual medley. He is also the first swimmer from China to win a gold medal in an Olympic men's

medley swimming Medley swimming is a combination of four different swimming (sport), swimming strokes (Freestyle swimming, freestyle (usually front crawl), backstroke, breaststroke, Butterfly stroke, butterfly) into one race. This race is either swum by one sw ...

event. He had earlier won a bronze medal in the same event at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. In addition to his Olympic medals, Wang has also won four bronze medals at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, two gold and one bronze medals at the World Championships (short course) and eleven medals (five golds, three silvers, three bronzes) at the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

. Wang is the current national record holder in individual medley swimming for both short and long courses in all distances (100, 200, and 400 metres). He is also the holder of the Asian record for the 200 metres individual medley.

Early and personal life

Wang was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang province of China. He started swimming at the age of 6 and entered the Zhejiang swimming team at the age of 13. Wang is an alumnus of the School of Economics and Management at the

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) is a public university in Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 98 ...

. He obtained his master degree from the

Beijing Sport University Beijing Sport University (BSU; ) is a public university located in Beijing, China. It is part of the 211 Project and Double First-Class Construction. The university is affiliated with the General Administration of Sport of China. History BSU wa ...

and is currently pursuing his doctorate degree from the sports school of

Ningbo University Ningbo University (NBU; ) is a municipal public university in Jiangbei, Ningbo, Jiangbei, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China. It is affiliated with the Ningbo Municipal People's Government. The university is part of the Double First-Class Construction. H ...

Career

In November 2010, at age 16, Wang first represented China at the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), were a regional multi-sport event held from November 12 to 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China (although several events commenced ear ...

and won a silver medal in the men's 200m individual medley event. In September 2011, he broke the Asian record when he won the men's 400m individual medley at the Chinese National Swimming Championships. In July 2012, he made his Olympic debut at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

held in London, finishing 22nd in the men's 200m individual medley event. In November 2012, he won gold medals in both the men's 200m and 400m individual medley at the 2012 Asian Swimming Championships. In April 2013, he set the national record when he won the men's 200m individual medley at the Chinese National Swimming Championships. In September 2013, he broke his own national record when he won the men's 400m individual medley at the 2013 National Games of China. In August 2015, Wang broke his own national record when he won the bronze medal in the men's 200m individual medley at the 2015 World Championships, achieving a breakthrough for China in its men's

performance at international competitions. In August 2016, Wang won his first Olympic medal when he came in third in the men's 200m individual medley at the

. In December 2016, he won the gold medal in the men's 200m individual medley at the 2016 World Championship (SC), making it the first gold medal China has won in any international men's

event. In July 2017, Wang won the bronze medal in the men's 200m individual medley at the 2017 World Championships, making it his second bronze medal at two consecutive World Championships. In August 2018, Wang won his first Asian Games gold medal when he came in first in the men's 200m individual medley at the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games (), and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, were a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 August to 2 September 201 ...

. In July 2021, Wang won his first Olympic gold medal when he came in first at the men's 200m individual medley at the

, setting a new Asian record with his timing of 1:55.00, making him the second male swimmer from China to win an Olympic gold medal after

Sun Yang Sun Yang (; ; born 1 December 1991) is a Chinese Swimming at the Summer Olympics, Olympic and former List of world records in swimming, world-record-holding competitive Swimming (sport), swimmer. In 2012, Sun became the first Chinese athlete ...

. This is also the first gold medal won by an Asian male swimmer in the Olympics men's 200m individual medley event, and the first gold medal won by a Chinese male swimmer in any medley swimming event at the Olympics. In September 2021, Wang won 6 gold medals in the 2021 National Games of China, bringing his total gold medal tally in the National Games to 15, setting a new record for an athlete with the most number of gold medals in the history of the National Games of China He also matched his own personal best timing in the 200m freestyle at 1:46.14, last set 10 years ago. Wang was named "Asian Male Swimmer of the Year" by SwimSwam for the 2021 year. In March 2023, Wang won 4 gold medals in the 2023 National Spring Championships, recording a new personal best timing of 54.09 in the 100m backstroke event. In May 2023, he bagged 4 gold medals and 1 silver medal in the 2023 National Swimming Championships and recorded new personal best timings in three events (100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 100m breaststroke). In September 2023, Wang was the main torch bearer who lit the cauldron during the 2022 Asian Games opening ceremony in Hangzhou. He went on to win the men's 200m individual medley gold medal in the

Games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

with a time of 1:54.62, breaking his own Asian record and becoming the third best swimmer in history for this event. He also recorded a new personal best timing of 53.87 in the 100m backstroke when he swam the first leg of the men's 4x100m medley relay. In August 2024, Wang won a bronze medal at the men's 200m individual medley at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

. He became the first Asian swimmer to win individual medals in 3 consecutive Olympics Games.

International championships (50 m)

International championships (25 m)

Personal bests

Long course (50-meter pool)

Short course (25-meter pool)

Key: NR = National Record; AS = Asian Record

References

External links

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Wang Shun
at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Shun 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Ningbo Swimmers from Zhejiang Chinese male backstroke swimmers Chinese male medley swimmers Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic swimmers for China Olympic gold medalists for China Olympic bronze medalists for China Olympic gold medalists in swimming Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 2010 Asian Games Swimmers at the 2014 Asian Games Swimmers at the 2018 Asian Games Swimmers at the 2022 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for China Asian Games swimmers for China Asian Games silver medalists for China Asian Games bronze medalists for China Asian Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Medalists at the 2022 Asian Games 21st-century Chinese sportsmen Military World Games gold medalists for China Military World Games medalists in swimming Military World Games silver medalists for China Military World Games bronze medalists for China