Wu Peng

Wu Peng (simplified Chinese: 吴鹏; traditional Chinese: 吳鵬; pinyin: Wú Péng; born May 16, 1987 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang) is a Chinese former[2] swimmer. He has concentrated on the butterfly since the 10th National Games in 2005.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Wu.
Wu Peng
Personal information
Full nameWu Peng
NationalityChina
Born (1987-05-16) May 16, 1987
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) (2008)[1]
Weight72 kg (159 lb) (2008)[1]
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesButterfly

Early life and career

Wu's parents first sent him to the pool when he was four years old as an exercise for weight-loss.[3]

He first decided to dedicate himself to swimming while watching swimming in the 1996 Olympics; the best result for Chinese men's swimming was 4th place in 50m freestyle, while Chinese women's swimming got gold. Wu said to his father that he wanted to be the first Chinese man to stand on the podium for Olympic swimming.[3]

Wu's father died of a heart attack in 2003 while meeting Wu to bring him home for the weekend after practice.[3]

Career

He had excellent times at the National Games and Asian Games. In fact, he has brought hope to China's swim team since first joining it. He was one of the youngest swimmers on the team when he joined.

At the 2004 Athens Olympics, when he was only 17, Wu Peng made the 200 m butterfly final and became the only Chinese swimmer to finish in the top eight at the games. It was only Wu's first Olympics, and the team was satisfied with his performance.

At the 2006 short course World Championships in Shanghai, Wu won the 200 m butterfly in a championships record. He also won the bronze medal at the 2005 World Long Course Championships in Montreal, and the silver behind Michael Phelps at the 2007 World Long Course Championships in Melbourne, both times at 200 m butterfly. At the Beijing Olympics, he carried the nation's hopes for a breakthrough in swimming. Although making it to the finals, he managed a joint fourth with the New Zealand swimmer Moss Burmester.[4]

He suffered an injury in 2009 and could not make it to the World Long Course Championships to try for the podium once again.

Wu himself has said that if he were to medal in the London 2012 Olympics, he would consider his career to have been full and satisfying.[5]

Wu Peng defeated Michael Phelps in the 200 fly in consecutive events, at the Michigan Grand Prix and Charlotte UltraSwim, in 2012 ending Michael Phelps' streak of 60 wins in nearly 9 years.[6]

Major achievements

References
  1. "Wu Peng". China.org.cn. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  2. Anderson, Jared (September 10, 2014). "China names 61-swimmer Asian Games team – Sun Yang's back and he's got company". Swimswam. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  3. http://v.ku6.com/show/i8tt2DSnVXd7xS-p.html 我的奥林匹克——吴鹏 (translation: "My Olympics – Wu Peng") as part of the 2004 "我的奥林匹克" ("My Olympics") series.
  4. http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/SW/C73A1/SWM022101.shtml#SWM022101
  5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nOCr1I4NpA 我的奥林匹克——吴鹏 (translation: "My Olympics – Wu Peng") as part of the 2008 "我的奥林匹克" ("My Olympics") series.
  6. https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/05/14/sports/AP-SWM-Charlotte-UltraSwim.html
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