China add two silver, Marchand sets 200m individual medley world record

China added two silver and two bronze medals to its tally at the World Aquatics Championships on Wednesday, while France's Leon Marchand set a new world record in the men's 200-meter individual medley.

In the final of the mixed 4x100m medley relay, China fielded Xu Jiayu, Qin Haiyang, Zhang Yufei and Wu Qingfeng. The quartet finished in three minutes 39.99 seconds to claim silver, while Neutral Athletes B (NAB) took the gold in a championship record time of 3:37.97. Canada finished third. Defending champion the United States failed to qualify for the final.

Silver medalist Li Bingjie of China waves to the spectators during the awarding ceremony for the women's 200m freestyle final of swimming at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, July 30, 2025. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun)

In the women's 200m freestyle final, China's Li Bingjie, competing in her third individual event following the 400m and 1,500m freestyle, staged a strong comeback in the final 50 meters to secure the silver in 1:54.52. Australia's Mollie O'Callaghan claimed gold, while American Claire Weinstein settled for bronze.

"I'm quite satisfied with today's performance. I improved my personal best by more than a second," said Li, who also won silver in the 400m freestyle earlier in the week. Li will next compete in the 800m freestyle.

In the men's 50m breaststroke final, Qin Haiyang, who had won gold in the 100m event, claimed bronze in 26.67 seconds. Italy's Simone Cerasuolo took gold, and silver went to neutral athlete Kirill Prigoda.

In the men's 100m freestyle semifinals, China's Pan Zhanle clocked 47.81 seconds in the first heat, ranking third in his group. However, faster times in the second heat, including 46.84 from Romania's David Popovici and 46.81 from American Jack Alexy, pushed Pan to 10th overall, leaving him out of the final.

"I just wasn't in good form today," Pan said.

Popovici told Xinhua afterward, "Sometimes the semifinals end up being faster than the finals."

In the men's 200m butterfly final, China's Chen Juner placed seventh. American Luca Urlando captured the gold, followed by Poland's Krzysztof Chmielewski and Harrison Turner of Australia.

In the men's 800m freestyle final, Tunisia's Ahmed Jaouadi took gold in 7:36.88. Germany's Sven Schwarz and Lukas Martens claimed silver and bronze respectively.

The day also saw the first world record of the championships. France's Leon Marchand clocked 1:52.69 in the men's 200m individual medley semifinals, breaking the previous mark of 1:54.00 set by Ryan Lochte. China's Wang Shun qualified for the final with the seventh-best time.

In other semifinal events, Wan Letian ranked fourth to advance to the women's 50m backstroke final, while 12-year-old Yu Zidi finished eighth in the women's 200m butterfly semifinal, narrowly securing a spot in the final.

Italy's Pellacani and Santoro, silver medalists in Doha last year, delivered a consistent series of dives to take the top spot with 308.13 points. Cassiel Rousseau and Maddison Keeney of Australia finished just behind with 307.26 to claim silver. China's Li Yajie and Cheng Zilong settled for bronze.

Earlier in the day, Chen Yuxi and Xie Peiling advanced to the women's 10-meter platform final after placing first and second respectively in the preliminary round. The final will be held on Thursday.