World Aquatics Swimming World Cup: getting tickets for family a struggle for Pan Zhanle

Double Olympic champion says his parents were also not in attendance when he broke the 100m freestyle record at the Paris Olympics

Double Olympic gold medal winner Pan Zhanle says he struggled to get tickets for his family at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Shanghai this weekend and had to call on friends to help him get them.

Speaking after competing in the men's 100 metres individual medley on Friday night at the SPD BANK Oriental Sports Centre, Pan told the media his parents were also not in attendance at the Paris Olympics when he smashed the 100m freestyle record in 46.40 seconds.

Pan placed eighth in Friday night's 100m medley with a time of 51.78 seconds. France's Leon Marchand was first with a time of 50.65, ahead of Swiss swimmer Noe Ponti's 50.66. Britain's Duncan Scott finished third in 51.14.

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China's Wang Shun came fourth in 51.24, setting an Asian record. Hong Kong swimmer Ralph Koo Yat-ho finished third in his heat in the same event, but his time of 54.19 was not enough to progress to the final.

"It will be troublesome for my parents and grandad [to come and watch me compete] when they get too old to walk, and I [go overseas for competitions regularly]," Pan said.

"This competition is in Shanghai, which isn't too far from my home, so it's a good opportunity [for them to see me].

"But the ticket is really tough to get; they can't get them at all. We called everyone and many friends to help them.

"What's particularly sad is that they were not at the scene when the record was broken in the 100m freestyle at the Paris Olympics."

Pan's family eventually got tickets, and he said that although the event in Shanghai was "not the Olympics", his wish that they could watch him compete was fulfilled.

Ian Ho Yentou was the only Hongkonger to make it to Friday's finals, finishing eighth in the men's 50m freestyle with a time of 21.74.

The top three in that race were Trinidad and Tobago's Dylan Carter, who touched the wall in 21.06, followed closely by the United States' Jack Dolan in 21.07, and German Marius Kusch third in 21.09.

Four Hong Kong Hong Kong swimmers competed in the men's 100m breaststroke on Friday night.

Adam Mak Sai-ting came fifth in Heat 4, in 59.06 seconds.

In Heat 3, Adam Chillingworth also placed fifth in 59.73, 0.07 seconds ahead of Nicholas Cheung Chi-kit in sixth. Lee Shing-yan was eighth with a time of 1 minute and 2.01 seconds.

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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