Taiwan’s Butterfly King sets national record in Olympic 200m

TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's "Butterfly King," Eddie Wang Kuan-hung (王冠閎), set a new national record in the men's 200-meter butterfly semifinals at the Olympics Games on Wednesday (July 31), despite finishing 11th overall, failing to qualify for the finals. 

Wang clocked in at 1:55.07, marking the best performance by a Taiwanese swimmer in Olympic history and securing the top spot among Asian competitors this year.

Wang had earlier secured a spot in the semifinals by finishing third in his heat and eighth overall with a time of 1:55.32 on Tuesday. However, he faced stiff competition in the semifinals, with most swimmers in the second heat finishing under 1:55. 

Wang expressed mixed feelings about his performance, stating, "I think the top eight in the 200 butterfly event are all very fast, and the standard is very high; my performance so far is quite good, I hope to remember this experience and then hopefully I can do better next time."

Coach Huang Chi-yung (黃智勇) noted that the waves during the competition were a little high, and Wang briefly choked on water during the race. Huang believed Wang could have shaved off an additional half-second if not for the mishap. He remarked that although the expectations were not met, the ranking was better than last time, and Wang was ranked No.1 among Asian competitors, which is a kind of consolation.

Wang's journey to the semifinals wasn't without drama. In the final preparation stages, he faced a doping test scare, which he admitted was mentally taxing. Despite these challenges, Wang improved on his 13th-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics, expressing gratitude for the support he received and optimism for future competitions.