China's swimmer Zhang Zhanshuo wins silver at world junior championships

JERUSALEM, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's 16-year-old talent Zhang Zhanshuo on Friday won the silver medal in the men's 400m individual medley at the 2023 World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships in Netanya, Israel.

Zhang, the second-youngest swimmer in the final, clocked four minutes 12.44 seconds, behind Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita who set a championship record of 4:10.97. Lorne Wigginton of Canada took the bronze.

It was Zhang's third medal of the championships after winning bronze in the 800m freestyle and silver in the 4x200 freestyle relay.

Another medal for China was achieved in the women's 1,500m freestyle, by 14-year-old Mao Yihan who came third at 16:18.76, three days after winning the silver medal in the 800m freestyle event.

American Kate Hurst took the 1,500m gold at 16:09.37, and Japan's Ruka Takezawa the silver, just eight hundredths ahead of Mao.

Denmark's Casper Puggaard completed a double gold, winning the men's 50m butterfly in 23.50 seconds, two days after coming first in the butterfly double distance.

In the 50m final, Denmark's first-ever world champion was ahead of Austria's Lukas Edl and Australia's Thomas Pattison.

Australia also took gold and bronze in the women's 50m backstroke, with Iona Anderson winning in 28.01, and Jaclyn Barclay the champion in the double distance, coming third. Erika Pelaez of the United States finished in between, just 0.06 seconds behind Anderson.

In the last event of the evening, the women's 4x100m freestyle relay, Australians Milla Jansen, Hannah Casey, Jaimie de Lutiis, and Olivia Wunsch took the gold with 3:36.52, ahead of the United States and Canada.

Ahead the closing day of the competitions on Saturday, the United States tops the medal table with 12 golds, eight silvers and five bronzes, ahead of Australia, who have so far gained seven golds, seven silvers, and six bronzes.