China’s Qin wins men’s 50m breaststroke world title

FUKUOKA, Japan (AFP): China’s Qin Haiyang won the men’s 50m breaststroke at swimming’s world championships on Wednesday for his second gold of the competition.

Qin, who won the 100m breaststroke title on Monday, finished in a time of 26.29sec, ahead of American Nic Fink on 26.59 and China’s Sun Jiajun on 26.79.

Qin’s 100m victory on Monday gave China their first gold of the competition.

They quickly made it two when Zhang Yufei won the women’s 100m butterfly later that evening.

China only won one individual swimming gold at last year’s world championships in Budapest.

Britain’s Adam Peaty, a three-time 50m breaststroke world champion, skipped the competition in Fukuoka to prioritise his mental health.

The 28-year-old said he has been in a “self-destructive spiral” and has spoken previously about periods of depression and problems with alcohol.

Peaty has been in a class of his own in sprint breaststroke events for nearly a decade.

Ilya Shymanovich of Belarus, who has swum five of the top 10 times this year, was banned due to his country’s participation in the war in Ukraine.