Pan Zhanle Dominates the 100 Freestyle Arena

Male World Record of the Year: Pan Zhanle Took the 100 Freestyle to Stunning Place

Upon making contact with the wall at the end of the 100-meter freestyle final during the previous summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, Pan Zhanle turned to check the scoreboard within La Defense Arena. When he observed the figures next to his designation, the Chinese athlete slapped the water and began a well-deserved celebration, which included flexing his muscles.

In the arena, onlookers and journalists blinked in astonishment as they processed what Pan had just achieved: A 46.40 world record that obliterated Pan’s prior global benchmark and secured a victory of over a second against a highly competitive group featuring Olympic champions Kyle Chalmers and David Popovici.

Now that we approach the end of 2024, Pan’s outstanding performance is being acknowledged as Swimming World’s selection for Male World Record of the Year. The recognition was given to the Chinese swimmer over American Bobby Finke, whose aggressive strategy earned him gold in Paris along with a world record in the 1500 freestyle. Finke surpassed the former world record in the 1500 free with a time of 14:30.67, a performance that took .35 seconds off the mark set by China’s Sun Yang in 2012.

What secured the award for Pan was the sheer superiority he exhibited within just two laps of swimming. Entering the final of the 100 freestyle as the holder of the world record, thanks to his 46.80 time from the 2024 World Championships in Doha. Nevertheless, his performance in the French capital was extraordinary, enabling him to best Chalmers – the 2016 Olympic champion in this event – by a remarkable 1.08 seconds. Popovici, a former world record holder in the 100 free, finished 1.09 seconds behind.

While many world records are broken by narrow margins, sprints often experience drops of mere hundredths. By lowering the world record by .40, Pan achieved the largest reduction in the standard for the 100 freestyle in nearly 50 years – since South African Jonty Skinner clocked 49.44, which reduced Jim Montgomery’s record by .55 seconds.

“It’s insane,” Chalmers remarked. “I did everything I could to execute an incredible race, and during the last 15 meters, breathing toward him, I thought I might finish dead last because he was so far ahead. So, it was quite challenging to be aware of my position, and I’m someone who swims with my eyes closed, just to adhere to my own race plan. For him to deliver a 46.40 and break the world record in the Olympic final is astonishing, especially compared to yesterday’s 48.40 in the heats where he almost missed it. It’s fantastic that he could reset, refocus, and swim so swiftly tonight.”

The path to the Olympic championship wasn’t exactly straightforward for Pan – at least in the beginning. In the heats, Pan glided to a time of 48.40, earning a tie for 13th place and just squeezing into the semifinals. However, in the semifinals, Pan accelerated with a time of 47.21, securing the top seed and Lane Four for the final.

In pursuit of the Olympic crown, Pan left no ambiguity about the result. He immediately surged to the front of the field, achieving a stunning split of 22.28 at the halfway point. He continued to extend his lead on the final lap, which he completed in 24.12. The overall outcome resulted in a world record of epic proportions.

Unsurprisingly, a handful of doping allegations were directed at Pan. Nonetheless, Chalmers came to his defense by praising the performance and the effort his rival invested to achieve it. Pan, for his part, was honored to bring a gold medal back to China.

“For me, I don’t believe (a world record/gold medal) holds much significance because life continues,” Pan stated. “For China, I think the gold medal carries great importance because this is the first time the Chinese have (broken) a world record in these Games, so I believe this is something we should celebrate.”