25-year-old Chinese swimming phenom Yang Xu, who has skyrocketed in strength since becoming an Australian citizen and wants to compete in Paris, will not only be an opponent for Pan Zhanle in the individual event, but is also likely to be a key member of the Australian relay team. Yang Xu has changed his name to William Yang and is currently studying at the University of Sydney, and he is happy to fully integrate into Australian society.
Born in Australia, the son of a successful Chinese businessman, Yang Xu returned to China with his parents at the age of four and lived in Guangzhou, where he learned to swim and it can be said that his initiation in swimming was completed in China. But after Yang Xu represented Beijing in the 2017 National Games, he chose to become an Australian for some reason and died for the Australian swimming team.
Yang Xu won the Australian national championships in the 50m backstroke and 50m butterfly as soon as he became a naturalized Australian, and then won the gold medal in the 50m butterfly at the 2019 World University Games. When he was in China, Yang Xu focused on the backstroke, and although he reached the men's 100-meter backstroke final in the 2017 National Games, he only ranked eighth, which was not Xu Jiayu's opponent at all.
Yang decided to be an Australian, completed his studies at the University of Sydney, and switched to freestyle at the suggestion of Bobby Hurley, a member of the Australian swimming team, which proved to be a better fit for him. Despite having Chinese ancestry, Yang said he had never considered representing China rather than Australia, explaining: "I was born here (Australia)...... I love it here".
Yang Xu became one of Australia's fastest freestyle swimmers in 2022, winning the national 100m title and helping the Australian relay team win medals at the World Championships in Budapest and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. However, in 2023, Yang Xu was in trouble and was reimbursed for the whole season, and a tumor in his spinal canal compressed a nerve, which had affected normal walking and had to be operated on immediately. He finally recovered from surgery, and in November last year, he was suspended for another two months due to a torn cartilage in his shoulder.
No one expected that Yang Xu would miraculously return to the top, and everyone almost forgot about him, and at the Gold Coast in March this year, he finished second in the 100m freestyle, behind Rio 2016 Olympic champion Chalmers, and the Paris Olympics have a bright future. Of course, for all Australian swimmers, they have not yet qualified for the Paris Olympics, as their Olympic trials have not yet begun.
Yang Xu bluntly said that it is of great significance to enter the Australian team to participate in the Paris Olympics, which is where his dream lies. An Australian reporter asked him to comment on the incident of 23 athletes of the Chinese swimming team who mistakenly took trimetazidine, and Yang Xu did not fall into the trap to criticize China: "I just focus on swimming and try to swim as fast as possible." ”