Former Asian Record Holder Yan Zibei Retires
Chinese Olympian Yan Zibei confirmed his retirement this week at the conclusion of the National Games.
Yan had teased the possibility of a retirement during spring nationals and in the lead-up to the quadrennial National Games. After representing Hubei Province for the last time, the 30-year-old confirmed that he is moving on from his competitive career.
The native of Xiangfan competed in two Olympics. He won a silver medal in the mixed medley relay at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after having made his Olympic debut in 2016. Yan fell shy of qualifying for the Paris Olympics, suffering an injury in early 2024 that kept him out of the water for an extended period.
Yan finished 27th in the 10 breast at the Rio Olympics in 2016. In 2021, he finished sixth in the men’s 100 breast. The Chinese men’s medley relay was disqualified in finals.
Yan’s biggest individual achievement was a bronze medal in the men’s 100 breaststroke at the 2019 World Aquatics Championship. He won three relay medals at Worlds, including gold in the mixed medley and silver in the men’s medley at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka.
Yan set his first national record in the men’s 100 breast at the 2017 National Championships. Two years later, he would bridge the final 0.02 seconds to the Asian record of Kosuke Kitajima with a time of 58.63 seconds. At those Worlds in Gwangju, South Korea, he also set the Chinese and Asian records in the men’s 50 breast at 28.68.
He also set the U.S. Open record in the men’s 100 breaststroke at the Fran Crippen Mission Viejo Meet of Champions in 2019.
His finals appearance in the men’s 100 breast at the 2017 World Championships ended a drought for Chinese men in the stroke dating to 1998. In retrospect, he looks like the forebear that set the stage for Qin Haiyang’s emergence onto the global scene.
Yan won four relay gold medals at the Asian Games in 2018 and 2022. He won silver in the 100 breast at both meets and added silver in the 50 breast in 2018.
Yan finished out his career by finishing third in the men’s 100 breast and leading Hubei to gold in the men’s medley relay at the National Games.
