Courtesy: Corey He
I’m positive you’ve all heard of it by now: in a pool that was dubbed “sluggish”, “shallow”, and “turbulent” (when it comes to waves), Pan Zhanle of China threw down maybe one of the vital spectacular and memorable swims in current reminiscence: 46.40.
I’ve heard many individuals say that Pan’s efficiency was maybe essentially the most unimaginable particular person efficiency we’ve ever witnessed. And I wholeheartedly agree with that. To those that should still have their doubts, I’m breaking down under why we might by no means see one other efficiency like this ever once more in our lifetime.
*Disclaimer: Pan is simply 20 and has mentioned he has way more within the tank, so possibly we’ll see one other efficiency like this quickly…
1. Pan broke his personal world report by 0.4 seconds — the biggest margin since 1976.
The final time the 100 freestyle world report was damaged by greater than 0.4 seconds, you’d have to return almost 5 a long time to 1976 — when Jonty Skinner of South Africa swam a 49.44 to interrupt the prevailing world report of 49.99, held by Jim Montgomery of the US.
To shed some extra gentle on this, the one different particular person males’s world report to fall in Paris — Bobby Finke’s 1500 freestyle — was damaged by a smaller margin of 35 one-hundredths. That is on no account, form, or kind to take something away from Finke’s swim, however moderately to simply respect the rarity of Pan’s other-worldly efficiency.
World information within the sprints will not be imagined to be damaged by almost half a second. And but Pan did simply that — and he did it to his personal world report.
2. His second 50 is probably going essentially the most spectacular 2nd 50 we’ve ever seen.
For a second, let’s overlook about the truth that he hit the midway mark at 22.28 — which, in and of itself, is a tremendously quick break up. It’s extra about the truth that he was again in 24.12 — a time many swimmers around the globe would gladly take for a flat 50 free.
Let’s put Pan’s second 50 into context. When Pan led off China’s 400 freestyle relay in Paris en path to the previous Olympic File time of 46.92, he closed in 24.36. Pan’s former world report — set when he led off China’s 400 freestyle relay on the 2024 Doha Worlds — noticed him shut in 24.54 (en path to 46.80).
Let’s now evaluate him to David Popovici, the previous world report holder and one other large nearer. Popovici swam a 46.88 on the 2024 European Championships, the place he closed in 24.09. His former world report of 46.86, set again in 2022, noticed him shut in 24.12 — the identical break up as Pan’s 46.40.
Right here’s one final comparability to Kyle Chalmers, who’s additionally recognized for his closing velocity. Chalmers has been as quick as 47.08 twice in his profession — as soon as on the 2019 Worlds, and once more on the Tokyo Olympics. In 2019, he closed in 24.29; in 2021, he closed in 24.37.
Right here’s the underside line: Pan is matching or discovering one to two-tenths of additional velocity on the again half of the race — all whereas discovering as much as five-tenths on the primary 50 in comparison with the very best 100 freestylers on this planet. In different phrases, he closes as rapidly as a number of the finest closers on this planet, all whereas taking the race out a half second faster.
*Don’t get me unsuitable right here — his opening 50 is simply as exceptional, however I discover his again 50 simply otherworldly.
3. Pan left a world-class discipline — arguably the quickest Olympic remaining we’ve ever seen — far in his wake.
Might we simply take a second to understand the quantity of firepower amongst these remaining eight swimmers?
As beforehand talked about, you have got 2016 Olympic champion and reigning world champion Kyle Chalmers. Then there’s former world report holder David Popovici. You’ve acquired house favourite Maxime Grousset — the reigning world champion within the 100 butterfly, together with German File holder Josha Salchow and Nandor Nemeth, the second-fastest Hungarian ever on this occasion. After which there’s the U.S. Open report holder Jack Alexy, reigning Worlds silver medalist, together with teammate Chris Guiliano, who received the U.S. trials.
The time to make it again to the ultimate was 47.94, the 2nd-fastest top-8 cutoff solely to the Tokyo Olympics (47.82) — and quicker than what it took to make it again to the finals of the super-suited 2008 Beijing Olympics (48.07). The ultimate noticed all eight swimmers go underneath 48 seconds, the primary time in Olympic historical past that this has occurred.
Thus, we witnessed one of many deepest 100 freestyle fields ever assembled.
This results in my subsequent level…
4. Pan’s margin of victory was 1.08 seconds — the biggest margin because the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam.
Simply take into consideration that for a second. To seek out an occasion the place the margin of victory was bigger than that of Pan’s, we have now to return 96 years — to a day and age the place instances have been solely measured to the tenth.
It’s no fable that the swimming world has progressed a lot since then. For a second, we are able to overlook in regards to the tangible improvements — together with these to pool designs, beginning blocks, coaching regimens, and racing gear — and simply respect the truth that swimming as an entire is way extra aggressive than it was over a century in the past.
If you happen to’re nonetheless having issue wrapping your thoughts round this concept of competitiveness, right here’s maybe one of the simplest ways to contemplate this. If you happen to take the ultimate outcomes of the 2024 100 freestyle Olympic remaining and take away Pan from it fully, you get one thing that appears like a typical championship remaining. Upon eradicating Pan, you get a podium separated by 0.02 seconds, and the unfold throughout your entire discipline turns into precisely half a second (47.48 to 47.98).
Maybe this exhibits how a lot of an outlier Pan’s swim was. In a approach, his dominance on the sector made the Olympic remaining seem like a circle-seeded preliminary warmth — and that is on no account, form, or kind to downplay the remainder of the sector. As I discussed, this was the quickest Olympic remaining in historical past, with or with out Pan’s 46.40 — and Pan’s efficiency solely emphasizes this.
5. For swimming followers who’ve hassle contextualizing 46.40, listed below are some comparisons to another widespread sports activities.
The previous world report within the 100 freestyle stood at 46.80. Earlier than Pan’s 46.40, plenty of swimmers got here near that mark, recording performances of 46.86 and 46.88 (Popovici), 46.96 (Caeleb Dressel), 46.91 (Cesar Cielo), and 46.94 (Alain Bernard).
I say this to ascertain some context: the world report as soon as stood at 47.05 again in 2008 (Eamon Sullivan), and since then has taken incremental drops by a few of these aforementioned swimmers — earlier than Pan took an enormous chunk off of that.
If you happen to’re a monitor athlete, it’s in all probability the identical as somebody working a 3:24 within the males’s 1500m — or a 49-second efficiency within the girls’s 400m hurdles. If you happen to’re an extended jumper, maybe you could possibly evaluate Pan’s swim to a 9-meter lengthy bounce (the present world report stands at 8.95m from 1991).
Let’s transfer over to another sports activities. Pan’s efficiency attracts parallels to Matthew Mitcham’s near-perfect gold-clinching remaining dive on the 2008 Olympics 10m platform occasion. On this planet of determine skating, it’s the equal of touchdown a quintuple bounce — which, to many at this time, appears past bodily risk. On this planet of marathon working, Pan’s achievement parallels that of the two-hour mark — a barrier that has but to be overcome in an official race.
Regardless of the sport you could compete in, consider some legendary barrier that has but to be touched — after which think about not solely breaking it, however surpassing it convincingly. That’s the size of Pan’s efficiency.
Remaining Ideas
A number of days after his 46.40, Pan would go on to anchor China’s medley relay to gold in 45.92. Not solely did he break the U.S. males’s profitable streak on this occasion, however he additionally grew to become the primary man to cowl 100 meters in underneath 46 seconds — and, in doing so, he took down the legendary 46.06 relay break up set by Jason Lezak again in 2008.
Clearly, the circumstances of a relay are wildly totally different to that of a flat-start 100 freestyle. Along with Lezak’s 46.06, different swimmers have come shut: Cielo break up 46.22 again in 2009, and Duncan Scott break up 46.14 in 2019.
And as spectacular as the primary sub-46 swim could also be, I believe Pan’s 46.40 continues to be his most spectacular swim in Paris, simply due to how far he left his rivals — and the quickest to ever do it in historical past — far in his wake.
