Wang Shun (; born 11 February 1994) is a Chinese competitive swimmer. 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 also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

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 is a combination of four different swimming styles— backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle—into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley (IM) or by four swimmers as a medley relay. Individual ...

event. He had earlier won a bronze medal in the same event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. 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 five medals (one gold, two silvers, two bronzes) at the Asian Games. 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 Shun 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, public research university in Shanghai, Shanghai, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China ...

and the

Beijing Sport University Beijing Sport University (BSU) (), formerly known as "Central Institute of Physical Education" () and "Beijing Institute of Physical Education" (), is a nation-level public university located in Beijing, China. It is one of the National Key Univ ...

Career

In November 2010, at age 16, Wang first represented China at the 2010 Asian Games and won a silver medal in the men's 200m individual medley event. In September 2011, Wang 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 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 The 9th Asian Swimming Championships was held 15–25 November 2012 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was the second time that Dubai hosted the Championships; the city previously hosted in 2004. The 10th Asian Swimming Championships will be held ...

. 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 2016 Summer Olympics. 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 ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 Augus ...

. 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. 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 bagged 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 200 m freestyle at 1:46.14, last set 10 years ago.

Personal bests

Long course (50-meter pool)

Short course (25-meter pool)

Key: NR = National Record ; AS = Asian Record

References

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