YANG WENYI, THE ARROW OF CHINESE FREESTYLE GOLD AT THE 1992 BARCELONA OLYMPICS – SportHistoria

Article by John Manenti

With the handicap of having made her debut in the Olympic Panorama only after the 1984 Los Angeles Games, the China is rapidly recovering positions in the Swimming Medal Table, having so far collected 49 laurels (16 gold, 21 silver and 12 bronze …) such as to place it in eighth place in the absolute classification of this Disciplinealthough in the debut edition none of his representatives got on the podium and, after 3 silvers and a bronze four years later in Seoul (all in the women’s field …), had to wait for the 1992 Barcelona Games to celebrate the first successesmoreover all coming from the same sector …

And if of the China’s first Olympic Gold Medal in Swimming we have already talked about – being Zhuang Yong, who climbed to the top step of the podium on 26 July 1992 in the 100m freestyle Final ahead of the two favorites Jenny Thompson and Franziska van Almsick – today we dedicate our story to her contemporary friend/rival who, in a certain sense, it limited its flattering Palmarès.

In fact, Yang Wenyi was born on January 11, 1972 in Shanghai – exactly 7 months older than Zhuang – stands out ai Pan Pacific Championships held in mid-August 1987 in Brisbane, when just 15 years old contributes to the bronze medal of the 4×100 medley relay, lined up in the first backstroke fractionthe only other specialty practiced by the same, to then definitely stand out the following year …

First, in fact, on the occasion of the Asian Swimming Championships, scheduled for early April in his own country, in Guangzhou, collects a poker (m.50sl, m.100 back, 4x100sl and 4×100 mixed) of Gold, but with the pearl of set the relative world record on the shortest freestyle distance, improving the previous record of 25″28 set by the Romanian Tamara Costache with 24″98 at the Madrid 1986 World Championships, so as to present itself as one of the contenders for the podium at the Seoul Olympics in the following month of September 1988.

With compatriots already Huang Xiaomin and Zhuang to have conquered the silver in the Finals of the 100m freestyle and 200m breaststroke, preceded by the East Germans Kristin Otto and Silke Horner respectively, on the last day of the Games, Yang represents the remaining Chinese hope of being able to see one of their representatives climb to the top step of the podium, given that the 4x100sl relay (with Yang and Zhuang included in the second and fourth fractions …) had not gone beyond fourth place, while realizing the national record of 3’44″69 …

At the time there were no semi-finals, so that the race takes place with the heats in the morning and the Final in the afternoon of 25 September 1988 in the waters of theJamsil Indoor Swimming Pool” of the South Korean capital, and the 16-year-old fresh world record holder confirms her ambitions, imposing himself in the seventh and last heat with a time of 25″67 equal to the relative Olympic record, given that the specialty is included for the first time in the swimming program.

Last day of competitions in which, moreover, the aforementioned East German Otto pursues a sensational feat never achieved until then, namely collecting 6 goldswhich lacks only the one on the shortest scheduled distance, having already won the Finals on the 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke and 100m butterfly, as well as the two 4x100m freestyle and medley relays and who, in the circumstance, enters the final act with the third best time in qualifying of 25″85, winning the sixth heat, while compatriot Katrin Meissner closes in 25″77 in the wake of the Chinese …

Everything is ready, therefore, when at 20:00 local time, the 8 finalists are positioned on the starting blocks, with Yang in the fourth lane squeezed between the two East Germans and the American couple made up of Jill Sterkel and Leigh Ann Fetter in seventh and sixth respectively and the former world record holder Costache is also in the match, inserted in the first lane …

The 50-metre freestyle represents the counterpart of the 100-metre track in Athletics, or rather a test where tactics make no sense, you dive and go full force until you touch the opposite side of the pool, and, as expected, the three swimmers of the central lanes break away from the rest of the groupto then go to duel on the edge of the cents, before the final touch to have the upper hand “legendary” (and, like all compatriots of the period, “suspect” …) Otto who sets the new Olympic record of 25″49, despite the fact that Yang also improves her heat time to 25″64 and the just 15-year-old Meissner was joined by the much more experienced Sterkel, with whom she shares the lowest step of the podium in 25”71.

Considering the still young age, there is plenty of time for Yang to redeem herself, even if the following year, on the occasion of the Pan Pacific Championships which take place in mid-August 1989 in Tokyo, can only confirm the silver in the m.50sl Final, this time preceded (25″85 to 25″95) by the American Jenny Thompsonin addition to winning the bronze medal with the two 4x100sl and 4×100 medley relays, to then repeat the same feat of two years earlier at the Asian Swimming Championships, this time at the Asian Games at the end of September 1990 in Beijing which are resolved in practice in a sort of national championships, given that the landlords win all 15 scheduled races and, in particular, the 18-year-old Yang takes over the 50m freestyle and the 100m backstroke with the respective Games records of 25″86 and 1’03″83as well as contributing, as the last fractionist in the first case and first in the second, to the easy successes of the 4x100sl and 4×100 medley relays …

Definitely a much more demanding test that constituted by World Championships at the beginning of January 1991 scheduled in Perth, Australia, where Yang is entered only on the distance of 50m asl, revealing a non-optimal condition already in the heat, where he struggles to enter the 8 finalists obtaining only the seventh time with 26″26 and therefore, despite improving up to 25″87, finish no better than fourth (and tied with Thompson …) in the race that sees the triumph in 25″49 of Zhuangalready bronze on the double distance.

At this point, many are wondering if the world record of 24”98 – moreover obtained on an occasion without particular tensions – should not be considered an episodic exploit for Yangwhich in any case replies on the occasion of the Universiade held in Sheffield in mid-July 1991, taking revenge on Zhuang (25″92 to 26″10) and therefore be both part of the victorious 4x100sl relay …

This affirmation means that the following year, the Barcelona Olympics represent a sort of “showdown” between the two Chinese peers, for a grand finale that goes on stage on 31 July 1992 for a possible poker of the Asian country, given that, in addition to the already mentioned victory of Zhuang on the 100m freestyle, Qian Hong had also climbed the top step of the podium in the 100m butterfly and Lin Li in the 200m medley, complete with a world record of 2’11”65while Zhuang and Yang have already won the silver medal in the 4×100 freestyle relay behind the United States.

For the Zhuang is an opportunity to make the history of swimming in your countryso as not to spare energy – and, moreover, on the only freestyle pool it is practically impossible to make calculations, in order to avoid unpleasant surprises – scoring the best time in qualifying with 25″56 in the sixth heat, while the American couple formed by Thompson and Angel Martino curiously recorded the same time of 25″63 going respectively to touch first in the seventh and in the fifth heat, with Yang only qualifying with the sixth time of 25″84. Second behind Thompson…

This circumstance means that the world record holder is placed in the seventh lane, i.e. away from the plants occupied by Zhuang and Thompson, so that as soon as the 8 finalists enter the water in the “Bernat Picornell swimming pools”, Yang immediately takes a shoulder ahead of all the others, maintaining this margin with a frantic paceto which Zhuang fails to oppose even if she touches in her “Personal Best” in the career of 25″08 ahead of Martino who finishes in 25″23except that the friend / rival it also combines the Olympic Gold with the adjustment of its absolute limit, going down to 24”79.

Eh, no …, the world record of April 1988, which had seen Yang as the first freestyle stylist to break the “25″ barrier net”, it was not really a coincidence …