Let's meet in Paris, Qin Haiyang's "Battle" British Frog King Pitty: I Want Three Gold Medals for Men | Breaststroke | Frog King at the World Championships

When Qin Haiyang swept the Asian record for the 100 meter breaststroke three times at the Fukuoka World Championships, he probably only had British athlete Adam Pitty left in his heart.

On the evening of July 24th, in the men's 100m breaststroke final, Qin Haiyang won the gold medal with a time of 57.69 seconds, breaking the Asian record and becoming the first world championship gold medal in the history of Chinese men's breaststroke.

However, due to the absence of Tokyo Olympic champion Pitty from this year's World Championships due to illness, Qin Haiyang also showed some regret after winning the championship. At the same time, he also issued a "battle letter" to Pitty, who had repeatedly criticized Chinese swimming before.

Learn from the same school as Ning Zetao

24-year-old Qin Haiyang previously came from the Navy Swimming Team and studied under Coach Ye Jin for many years. He graduated from the same school as famous generals Ning Zetao and Qi Hui.

In a 2018 interview with The Paper, Ye Jin once said, "I remember when I first saw Qin Haiyang, who was only 9 years old and looked confused. Now, he has clear goals and conscious training, and is the ideal athlete for a coach."

In 2017, Qin Haiyang won the championship in the men's 200m breaststroke final at the 13th National Games with a time of 2:07.35 seconds, and gradually emerged on the world stage.

In 2018, Qin Haiyang won the runner up in the men's 200 meter breaststroke at the Short Pool Swimming World Championships. In 2019, he won the runner up in the men's 200 meter breaststroke at the 7th World Military Games.

With the continuous improvement of his performance, Qin Haiyang has also entered a bottleneck period - in an interview with Xu Lijia, Qin Haiyang stated that he was in this stage from 2017 to 2021: "He has been training very seriously, but there has been no progress. The last time he achieved the best score in the 200 meter breaststroke was in 2017, and it has only gradually approached this year. There are no physical or psychological problems, so he will also fall into a confused stage."

In 2022, Qin Haiyang came to the Shanghai team and joined Zhang Yufei's coach Cui Denrong's team, slowly exploring new training methods.

When it comes to the changes in training, Qin Haiyang said, "I think it is through scientific training that we gradually improve. Previous training was not as detailed, such as core training before diving, control of small muscle groups, and exercise of large muscle groups. I didn't know much about these before, but now they are all trained separately."

In addition, the change in mindset has also enabled Qin Haiyang to achieve a breakthrough: "The biggest change in coaching is the change in mindset, becoming more mature. In the past, the attitude towards swimming was more like that towards work, but now it's all about enjoying this sport, very happy."

"Since last year's World Championships, I have always felt that the burden of the competition is quite heavy, and I have lost quite a few times. Last year, after finishing the competition, I thought a lot and came to my senses. I started to enjoy this sport in its original form, doing well in every process, and not worrying about the results."

Paris Olympics, host Pitty!

Qin Haiyang won the gold medal at this World Championships with a time of 57.69 seconds, surpassing Dutch swimmer Kaminga's 57.80 seconds, making him the second fastest swimmer in history in the 100 meter breaststroke, second only to British swimmer Adam Pitty.

It is worth mentioning that Adam Pitty has an absolute monopoly advantage in this event - among the world's best results so far, Adam Pitty holds the top 14 seats, with a world record of 56.88 seconds leading the cliff, and Qin Haiyang's world championship record of 57.69 seconds ranking 15th in history.

However, Adam Pitty announced his early withdrawal from the World Championships due to psychological issues, and Qin Haiyang was unable to have the opportunity to compete with him on the same stage.

After the competition, Qin Haiyang also mentioned Pitty, "I am looking forward to Adam Pitty participating next year and competing with him on the same stage."

Interestingly, when Qin Haiyang was about to lose his grip on core training, the staff next to him shouted, "Last 15 meters, do Pity!"

When asked if Adam Pitty's dominance would bring pressure to himself, Qin Haiyang replied, "The first step to improving grades and winning a gold medal is to dare to think. If you think 56.88 seconds is difficult, then you will never achieve it. If you believe in the team, then stick to this goal. I think nothing is impossible."

In fact, Qin Haiyang had already stated his strength of 57.50 seconds at the Hangzhou National Championships in May, and when facing the camera in the semi-finals of the 100 meter race at the Fukuoka World Championships, he was outspoken and set himself a goal of 57.50 seconds, which shows his strength and confidence.

When Qin Haiyang had absolute dominance in this World Championships, he naturally stated his goal of winning three gold medals at this tournament.

"The gold medal in the 100 meter breaststroke is the beginning of this competition. I hope to go all out to win the gold medals in the 50 meter and 200 meter breaststroke events, and win the gold medals in all three breaststroke events."