Pan Zhanle Secures Swimming World Pacific Rim Male Swimmer of the Year Award
Pan Zhanle Secures Swimming World Pacific Rim Male Swimmer of the Year Award
The path traveled en route to the 2024 Olympic Games varied. Some athletes opted to focus solely on the Games, unwilling to break loose from their typical preparation. Others chose to compete at a February edition of the World Championships, using the meet as a launching point toward Paris.
Count Pan Zhanle as someone who benefited from double duty.
Leaving no doubt that he is the current undisputed king of the 100-meter freestyle, Pan first captured a world title in the event in Doha in February, while also lowering the world record for the first time in Chinese relay duty. More important, he left the Olympic Games with another world record over two laps of freestyle, his march to gold highlighted by a generational performance.
Thanks to his dominance, Pan was the unanimous choice for 2024 Swimming World Pacific Rim Male Swimmer of the Year recognition. He is the second straight Chinese athlete to capture the award, following Qin Haiyang, and is the fourth man historically from his country to earn the accolade.
Pan initially let his Olympic-year intentions known at the World Championships in Doha, which were held in Doha. While many top names opted to bypass the competition, not comfortable with altering their Paris prep, Pan gained major confidence from his trip to the Middle East, and gave his future Olympic foes something to think about.
As China won gold in the 400 freestyle relay, Pan led off with a world record of 46.80, a mark that shaved .06 from the previous global standard, set by David Popovici at the 2022 European Championships. A few days later, Pan wasn’t quite as swift in the final of the 100 freestyle, but his time of 47.53 supplied gold ahead of Italian Alessandro Miressi.
When Pan arrived at the Olympic Games, he certainly ranked as the favorite for gold. But a sluggish preliminary swim, in which he tied for 13th, raised temporary questions concerning that proposition. However, Pan surged to the top seed in the semifinals, evidence that he was managing himself through the rounds, and he had even more to deliver in the final.
Bolting to the front of the field, Pan engaged in a race against the clock. Splitting 22.28 for his outgoing lap, Pan came home in 24.12 for a world-record outing of 46.40. The time shaved .40 off his previous world record, accounting for the largest world-record drop in the event since Jonty Skinner took .55 off the record in 1976. More, Pan captured the gold medal by 1.08 seconds over silver medalist Kyle Chalmers.
Pan also claimed gold in Paris in the 400 medley relay and silver in the mixed 400 medley relay. During China’s gold-medal march in the 400 medley relay, Pan checked in with a split of 45.92, the fastest in history.
During the 2024 campaign, Pan demonstrated his range in other freestyle events. He finished the year with a best of 21.99 in the 50 freestyle, 1:45.68 in the 200 free and 3:45.58 in the 400 free.
“For me, I don’t think (a world record/gold medal) means a lot because life continues,” Pan said. “For China, I think the gold medal means a lot because this is the first time the Chinese (broke) a world record in these Games, so I think this is something we need to feel happy about.”
Pacific Rim Male Swimmer of the Year
- Pan Zhanle (China)
- Cam McEvoy (Australia)
- Kyle Chalmers (Australia)
- Xi Jiayu (China)
- Elijah Winnington (Australia)