The swimming events of the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore kicked off today with the first day of competition. In the women’s 400m freestyle final, Chinese star Li Bingjie clocked a personal best of 3:58.21, breaking the Asian record and earning a silver medal. Another Chinese swimmer, Yang Peiqi, finished seventh with a time of 4:06.47.

In the women’s 4×100m freestyle relay final, Team China placed fourth with a time of 3:34.17. In the men’s 4×100m freestyle relay final, the Chinese team came in fifth, finishing in 3:11.15.

During the women’s 400m freestyle heats, Li Bingjie swam 4:03.11, and Yang Peiqi posted 4:03.36, ranking third and fifth overall respectively to qualify for the final. In the final, Li started in fourth place after the first 100 meters and maintained that position until the final 50 meters. In the final sprint, she accelerated strongly and overtook both Australia’s Lani Pallister and the USA’s Katie Ledecky, ultimately finishing second with 3:58.21. Yang Peiqi finished seventh.

 The gold medal went to Summer McIntosh of Canada with a time of 3:56.26, while Ledecky claimed the bronze in 3:58.49.

After the race, Li Bingjie was visibly emotional:

"I didn’t expect to overtake her (Ledecky). I just followed my own pace in the beginning, and in the last 100 meters, I saw the gap between us wasn’t too big, so I gave it everything I had. Although Ledecky may not be at her peak form right now, this victory means a lot to me. I still hope to improve my performance and race alongside her again when she's at her best."