She became a champion when she was only 14 years old: Who is Ye Shiwen?

Then, at the 2011 World Swimming Championships held in her country, she signaled that she would be the new star of swimming when she won the gold medal in the 200 m individual medley, leaving Alicia Coutts and Ariana Kukors behind.

2012 London made Shiwen known all over the world. When she became the Olympic champion in both the 400 (breaking the world record) and the 200-meter individual medley, it was thought that this 16-year-old Chinese girl would be known in the pool for many years to come.

However, after London 2012, things started to go wrong for Ye Shiwen. She had to struggle with physical difficulties such as excessive weight gain and an injury to her right ankle. This also affected her performance in the pool. She did not qualify for the finals in any category at the 2015 World Championships. When she failed to qualify for the finals in 2016 Rio, where expectations were high, the negative reaction she received from both the press and fans brought serious problems such as depression and insomnia to the talented swimmer.

Ye Shiwen (born 1 March 1996) is a Chinese swimmer. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she won gold medals in the 400 metres and 200 metres individual medley, breaking the world record in the 400 m event and the Olympic record in the 200 m event.

The mental and physical difficulties she experienced after the Olympic Games brought her to the brink of quitting sports. The turning point for Shiwen was when she decided to take a break from swimming the following year and return to her undergraduate education, which she started but could not finish in 2014. Her return to Tsinghua University allowed her to breathe. It was a decision supported by her family and coach Xu Guoyi. Guoyi believes that the campus is a refuge for the athlete from all her troubles, giving her a break to recover physically and mentally. Shiwen explains that she rejuvenated her mind in the quality time she spent at university, away from competitions.

Shiwen, who returned to the pool in 2019 after a break, showed that she was free from her problems at the China Swimming Championship in April 2019. Not only did she become champion in the 200-meter breaststroke, 400 and 200-meter individual medley, she also achieved the best breaststroke time of her career. Her remarkable comeback was not limited to this. She went below 2 minutes and 10 seconds in the 200 individual medley for the first time since 2014. So, taking a break helped. The champion, who said that she still dreams of swimming after long and deep thoughts, stated that she knew that it was difficult to repeat her previous steps.

Ye Shiwen was perhaps in her most positive mood since 2012 as she attended the 2019 World Swimming Championships in Gwangju. She first passed the heats and then the semi-finals and swam in the finals in the 200-meter breaststroke, 400 and 200-meter individual medley. This was their first intercontinental final since London 2012. She became second in the world after Katinka Hosszu in 200 and 400 meters and was on the podium at the world championship for the first time after the gold medal in Shanghai in 2011. By placing fourth in the 200 breaststroke, she showed that a medal was not far away. Her statement after winning her first medal in Gwangju, "After returning to the pool, my coach did not demand anything from me. She just wanted me to be happy and enjoy the race," indicating why she was successful. She was now racing happily, without being under pressure.

Mentally resetting himself allowed Ye Shiwen to be reborn, honing her abilities in the pool and returning. She always made a difference with her backstroke and freestyle styles. On her return, she now swims the breaststroke stronger.

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2023

Comeback queen Ye goes with the flow

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202309/28/WS6514bb50a310d2dce4bb843c.html