Last night, the People’s Republic of China’s Qin Haiyang became the first swimmer of any gender, in any stroke, to claim the 50m, 100m & 200m treble at a single World Aquatics Championships. World Aquatics spent ten minutes with the breakout star to ask about his history-making swims.
Qin Haiyang, tonight you completed the 50m, 100m & 200m Breaststroke treble, and delivered a world record. Did you ever think that was possible?
Before we came to Fukuoka, the 50m, 100m & 200m Breaststroke gold medals were my goal. So first of all, I achieved my goal, but the world record for the 200m Breaststroke is a surprise for me.
Zac Stubblety-Cook is a very competitive swimmer and also I haven’t swam with him before. This is the first time we’ve swum together, and also during the race, because we are beside each other, I just did my swim, and it was a very nice swim.
In completing the treble tonight, you have made history. No swimmer of any gender, in any stroke, has ever won all three distances at the one World Aquatics Championships. Has the significance of your history-making swims this week sunk in yet?
The 50m, 100m & 200m Breaststroke gold medals were my goal, so now I have achieved my goal. I know it is a very, very difficult thing to do, and it was a very, very big challenge for me. But I knew I had enough confidence to achieve this goal, which you see, I have done.
Having had such a strong meet here in Fukuoka, you would now be considered the favourite for Paris. Are you ready for the pressure and expectations that will come with this?
To be honest with you, I think when I finish the race, it means the end. Everything starts at a new beginning. Those gold medals, they are hanging on my neck, and then they can hang on the wall. So when I take them off, it means a new beginning.
"To be honest with you, I think when I finish the race, it means the end. Everything starts at a new beginning."
I think of course I will have pressure, but every time I go into a new race, it’s a new beginning. It’s a new challenge for me, and that’s why I think even though I have pressure on me, I am ready for a new future.
Zac Stubblety-Cook has been known to close really hard in that last fifty, so how much did you plan your race strategy around trying to have a lead on him going into that last lap?
I learnt a lot from yesterday’s semifinal as we all know Stubblety-Cook has a very, very strong last one hundred. So for me, my strength is my speed, that is why I have very good confidence in my speed. And also I know that if we touch the wall together at the 150m, the last 50m I won’t lose to him. I know speed is my strength.
But of course, people have two sides. They are a little bit of angel and a little bit of devil inside. So this afternoon, it was kind of a struggle between those two. I told myself, maybe I can lose this race. I’ve already got two gold medals. But before the race, I told myself, why go in the pool to be a loser? I don’t want to be a loser, I have to win. That’s why I used my speed and used my confidence to win this race.
"People have two sides. They are a little bit of angel and a little bit of devil inside. So this afternoon, it was kind of a struggle between those two. I told myself, maybe I can lose this race. I’ve already got two gold medals. But before the race, I told myself, why go in the pool to be a loser."
Answers delivered with the assistance of the People’s Republic of China’s team translator.