Full name Zhang Lin Role Olympic athlete National team China Height 1.88 m | Sport Swimming Weight 77 kg Name Zhang Lin Strokes Freestyle swimming | |
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Born 6 January 1987 (age 37) ( 1987-01-06 ) Beijing, China College team Beijing University of Technology Olympic medals Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metre freestyle | ||
Zhang Lin (simplified Chinese: 张琳; traditional Chinese: 張琳; pinyin: Zhāng Lín; born January 6, 1987) is a retired Chinese competitive male swimmer. He is an Olympic silver medalist, world champion, and the current world-record holder in the 800 metre freestyle.
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Early and personal life
On January 6 1987, Zhang was born in Haidian Deistrict, Beijing City. He is the second son to his parents Zhang Zhongquan (张仲泉) and Zhang Fenglan (张凤兰). He has an elder brother Zhang Cong (张琮) who is 5 years his senior.Both of his parents are the common staffs in a property management company.
Zhang started swimming at the age of 7. His junior school was nearby Beijing Sport University, it was one of his initial factors of swimming. In 2000, he decided to be a professional swimmer. His swimming idol is Australian Grant Hackett.
Zhang is an alumnus of Beijing 101 Middle School.Since 2016, Zhang has been studing in Beijing Sport University.
Career
Zhang specializes in the 200 m, 400 m, 800 m and 1500 m freestyle events. Zhang was selected for the national team in 2002.
At the 2003 World Aquatics Championships, he was the only Chinese male swimmer to reach the individual finals, finishing in eighth place. In 2005, he broke China's 400 freestyle record at the National Games, and was crowned 200 and 1,500 freestyle champion.
Zhang Lin won a silver medal in the men's 400 meter freestyle at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing with a time of 3:42.44, 0.58 seconds behind gold medalist South Korean Park Tae-hwan, and making him at the time the third fastest 400 meter freestyler in history (and setting a Chinese Record in the process). Zhang's silver was the first Olympic swimming medal ever by a Chinese male swimmer.
At 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome, Zhang won a bronze medal in the men's 400 meter freestyle and a gold medal in the men's 800 meter freestyle (7:32.12); the gold medal finish was a world record and the first time ever by a Chinese male in a world swimming competition in the past 73 years. Zhang was named 2009 Pacific Rim Male Swimmer of the Year by ’‘Swimming World Magazine’‘, it's also the first Chinese male swimmer to win this award.
Zhang is coached by Zhang Yadong and Chen Yinghong. He has also been coached by Australian Denis Cotterell since late 2007, who is the former coach of distance champion Grant Hackett. In the fall of 2011, he trained with Dave Salo at the Trojan Swim Club for a 52-day training camp.
Since 2010, Zhang had found that he suffered a rare kind of asthma, and it led his serious decline. He didn't attend the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Zhang announced his retirement around 2013.Nowdays he sometimes attends some sport activities.
Rivalry
Zhang's greatest rivals are countryman Sun Yang and Korean Park Tae-hwan. They compete in many top-class competitions, including the Olympic Games, FINA World Championships and Asian Games. And all of three are regarded as the greatest Asian male swimmers in history, they set many Asian swimming milestones. Zhang is the first Chinese male swimmer to win the world champion, Olympic medal and hold the world record; Sun is the first Chinese male swimmer to win the Olympic gold medal and hold the world record; Park is the first Asian male swimmer to win Freestyle Olympic gold medal and the first-ever South Korean swimmer to win the Olympic any medals. They also become friends outside the pool.