Qin Haiyang grabs first swimming gold at World Aquatics Championships

Qin Haiyang captured China's first swimming gold medal in the men's 100-meter breaststroke final by clocking 58.23 seconds at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Monday.

Qin, who had qualified fastest in the semifinals, trailed Olympic champion Nicolo Martinenghi of Italy in the first 50 meters. However, the reigning world champion surged in the closing stretch, overtaking his rival in the final meters to clinch the victory. Denis Petrashov of Kyrgyzstan finished third.

"It came down to the last 10 meters," Qin said. "At that point, nobody had much left, so it was all about technique. I think that gave me the edge."

Twelve-year-old Yu Zidi impressed in the women's 200m individual medley final, mounting a powerful freestyle finish to place fourth, just 0.06 seconds shy of the podium. Canada's Summer McIntosh and Mary-Sophie Harvey got gold and bronze, while America's Alex Walsh had silver.

"I was really nervous before the race," Yu said. "But at the same time, I was excited to compete against some of the world's top athletes. The result was excellent - it went beyond what I expected."

In the women's 100m butterfly final, Zhang Yufei touched in 56.47 seconds for fourth place, with fellow Chinese Yu Yiting finishing eighth. America's Gretchen Walsh won gold in a championship record time of 54.73, while Belgium's Roos Vanotterdijk and Alexandria Perkins of Australia took silver and bronze, respectively.

In the evening's semifinals, China's Peng Xuwei qualified for the women's 100m backstroke final, while compatriot Tang Qianting advanced to the women's 100m breaststroke final in third place.