Zhang Lin (; born 6 January 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.
Early and personal life
On 6 January 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 five years his senior.父母眼中张琳仍是乖乖男 手上老茧透露训练艰苦 Retrieved 10 January 2017 Both of his parents are employed by a property management company.张琳·泳坛冠军 Retrieved 14 December 2016张琳：给父母买房是心中梦想 Retrieved 15 December 2016张琳为妈妈送上99朵玫瑰 Retrieved 10 January 2017
Zhang began swimming at the age of seven. In 2000, he decided to be a professional swimmer.曝张琳可爱童年照 Retrieved 1 October 2016张琳笑称从小“对水有亲和力” 练游泳苦中有乐 Retrieved 1 October 2016 His swimming idol is Australian Grant Hackett.张琳感慨童年趣事一去不回 Retrieved 12 December 2016张琳破中国男泳尴尬 Retrieved 14 December 2016
Zhang is an alumnus of Beijing 101 Middle School.北京一零一中学优秀校友 Retrieved 17 December 2016 Since 2016, Zhang has been studying in Beijing Sport University.张琳透露自己目前在北京体育大学深造 Retrieved 18 December 2016
Swimming Career Zhang specialized 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.Zhang Lin wins swimming historic silver medal Retrieved 16 December 2016
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); this was a world record and a first by a Chinese male in a world swimming competition in the past 73 years, and was also the penultimate men's swimming world record achieved in the high-tech slick-suit张琳破世界纪录夺冠 中国男子游泳的历史在罗马改写！ Retrieved 17 December 2016张琳：墙上照片换成偶像哈克特 朴泰桓激励了我 Retrieved 17 December 2016Zhang Lin, The First Chinese Man Breaks 800 Free World Record Retrieved 16 December 2016游泳八传奇：张琳零的突破 Retrieved 19 December 2016 The high-tech slick-suits were immediately banned thereafter from official-sanctioned major competition use under new FINA regulations after the 2009 World Championships. 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.环太平洋地区年度最佳 张琳09年获殊荣 Retrieved 15 December 2016张琳生涯六大高光时刻 Retrieved 17 December 2016
Zhang was coached by Zhang Yadong and Chen Yinghong. He was also coached by Australian Denis Cotterell since late 2007, who was 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.专访张琳教练：被质疑没有不委屈的 Retrieved 15 December 2016
In 2010, Zhang found that he suffered a rare kind of asthma, and it led his decline.张琳哮喘病情运动员中罕见 Retrieved 15 December 2016从顶峰跌落谷底张琳怎么了？ 体能透支或哮喘突发 Retrieved 15 December 2016 He missed the 2012 Summer Olympics.张琳：成绩不行时没人信任你 遗憾未参加伦敦奥运 Retrieved 15 December 2016Chinese swimmer Zhang Lin set sights on 2016 Olympic Games Retrieved 15 December 2016张琳不堕破浪志 仲永绝非我姓名 Retrieved 16 December 2016
Zhang announced his retirement around 2013.张琳：英雄迟暮 难说再见 Retrieved 19 December 2016张琳告别赛场 26岁的人生这才刚刚开始 Retrieved 18 December 2016 He sometimes attends some sport activities.世界冠军张琳现身重庆游泳节 Retrieved 15 December 2016北京游泳 期待下一个张琳 Retrieved 19 December 2016
Major achievements 2005 World Championships - 6th 1500 m freestyle; 2005 National Games - 1st 200 m/ 400 m/ 1500 m freestyle; 2007 World Championships - 6th 200 m freestyle; 2008 Summer Olympics - 2nd (silver medalist) 400 m freestyle; 2009 World Aquatics Championships - 3rd (bronze medalist) 400 m freestyle; 3:41.35 2009 World Aquatics Championships - 1st (gold medalist) 800 m freestyle; world record 7:32.12
See also List of Chinese records in swimming List of world records in swimming World record progression 800 metres freestyle
References
External links