by sportswriter Liu Yang
FUZHOU, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- At 82, Zhan Yingying proved it's never too late to achieve golden dreams, capping a lifetime passion for swimming with an extraordinary performance at the just-ended 2025 World Aquatics Masters Championships in Singapore.
Zhan, who had never before competed on the global stage, captured one gold, two silvers and one bronze in the 80-84 age group category. The competition attracted approximately 6,000 athletes from around 100 countries and regions.
"I was overjoyed to win these medals. It felt like fulfilling a childhood dream," Zhan said, her voice brimming with emotion.
Born in 1943 in a riverside village in southeast China, Zhan's connection to water began early. As a teenager tasked with caring for her younger siblings, she would take them to the riverbank to bathe and wash clothes, snatching moments to teach herself to swim.
"No one taught me how to swim; I just enjoyed being in the water during summer," Zhan recalled. "I learned through trial and error, trying desperately not to drown."
Her natural talent was spotted by a school coach when she was 15. Without even owning a proper swimsuit, Zhan joined the training team. By 17, she had become the youngest member of China's national swimming team and broke the national record in women's 100m butterfly the following year.
Coaches and teammates hailed her as a "butterfly genius", but her promising career was cut short by back and leg injuries.
"You can't imagine how much I wanted to improve back then," Zhan said. "I constantly dreamed of standing on the highest podium, singing the national anthem."
After leaving competitive swimming, Zhan worked on a factory production line before finding her calling as a coach. She became one of the founders of Zhangzhou's swimming team and nurtured numerous outstanding athletes, including Wang Mengjian, who won gold in men's 100m breaststroke at China's 10th National Games.
Even after retiring from the sports school in 1999, Zhan returned to coaching in 2004 to help establish Zhangzhou's swimming team for athletes with disabilities. She coached several Paralympic medalists, including Wei Yanpeng, Jin Zhipeng and Li Tingshen.
"Athletes with disabilities need courage to pursue sports, and my job was to help them find that courage," Zhan explained.
At 72, she stepped down from coaching but never left the pool. These days, she swims 2,000 meters daily in about an hour.
"As a coach, I had little time for my own swimming. After retiring, I rediscovered the joy of being in the water," she said.
After discovering the opportunity to compete in Singapore, Zhan's long-dormant competitive spirit awakened. She contacted a Shanghai swimming club to register and began training with the intensity of her youth.
Her eight-year-old granddaughter trained alongside her daily. "Grandma trained really hard and swam longer distances than before," the girl observed.
Before heading to Singapore, Zhan rediscovered her 1961 diary containing technical insights from when she broke the national record. "I hoped that experience might still help," she said.
At the championships, she took gold in the 400m freestyle, silver in the 200m freestyle and 200m medley, and bronze in a relay event.
"After more than 60 years, I finally stood on the top podium. It's the best feeling ever in my life." Zhan said, reflecting on her triumphant moment. Enditem
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