Doha, Qatar, February 18, 2024: China ended the World Aquatics Championships – Doha 2024 with a total of 33 medals comprised of 23 gold, eight silver and two bronze.
Although they could not add to their golden haul on the last night of the swimming competition at Aspire Dome on Sunday, they gained an eighth silver through Tang Qianting.
Their gold medals came from three of the six sports – nine in diving, seven in artistic swimming and seven in swimming, including four relays.
The United States was second with 9-6-8-23, followed by Australia 7-12-5-24, Netherlands 5-4-0-9 and Great Britain with 4-5-9-18.
*China’s women’s 100m breaststroke world champion Tang Qianting was aiming for the 50m breaststroke title in the second race of the night but finished second to defending two-time champion Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania.
Meilutyte touched in 29.40 and Tang took silver in an Asian record time of 29.51. Italy’s Benedetta Pilato won the bronze in 30.01.
*In the men’s 400m individual medley, Japanese veteran Daiya Seto won the bronze medal behind New Zealand’s Lewis Clareburt and Max Litchfield of Great Britain.
Seto, 29, was fourth after the butterfly leg, backstroke and breaststroke and produced a fine freestyle finish to take the bronze. Clareburt touched in 4:09.72, ahead of Litchfield in 4:10.40 and Seto in 4:12.51, 02.79 seconds off the pace.
Seto, bronze medallist at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, said of his bronze medal: “This event is very hard but it’s good. My lucky medal.”
*Claire Curzan of the United States was named female MVP and Daniel Wiffen of Ireland was named male MVP.
*The overall team trophy for the swimming competition went to the United States of America.