Pan Zhanle is a Chinese freestyle swimmer who has made significant strides in the world of competitive swimming.
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He began his career at the age of 15, debuting at the 2019 Chinese Summer LC Swimming Championships where he won the 1500 metre freestyle with a time of 15:33.48.
At the 2020 Chinese Olympic Team Trials, Pan placed second in the 100 metre freestyle with a time of 48.74 seconds.
International Breakthrough
Pan’s international debut came at the 2021 FINA SC World Championships, where he competed in multiple relay events and finished eleventh in the 100 metre freestyle.
In 2022, he tied for sixth in the 100 metre freestyle at the FINA SC World Championships and set a new Asian record with a time of 45.77 seconds.
Historic Achievements
In May 2023, Pan broke the Asian record in the 100 metre long course freestyle with a time of 47.22 seconds. At the 2022 Asian Games, he became the fifth man in history to swim the 100 metre freestyle in under 47 seconds.
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Additionally, Pan achieved the milestone of reaching sub-22 seconds in the 50 metre freestyle, sub-47 seconds in the 100 metre freestyle, and sub-1:45 in the 200 metre freestyle.
World Record and Olympic Success
Pan Zhanle’s success continued at the 2024 World Championships in Doha, where he set a new 100 metre freestyle world record with a time of 46.80 seconds.
At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Pan won gold in the 100 metre freestyle, breaking his own world record with a time of 46.40 seconds.
His margin of victory was 1.08 seconds, the largest since the 1928 Olympics, and his time improvement was the biggest in 25 years.
In the men’s 4×100 meters medley final, Pan played a crucial role in helping China secure gold and end the United States’ long-standing dominance in this event.
As the anchor leg, he recorded the fastest split in history for the men’s 100 freestyle with a time of 45.92 seconds, contributing to China’s winning time of 3:27.46.
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