PERTH - China's powerful swimming team lowered their colours to a resurgent Australia at the inaugural tri-nation Super Series on Saturday. The two-night event, the richest meet in the world with $500,000 in prize money up for grabs, wrapped up Saturday with the host nation dominating the second evening even more comprehensively than it did the first.
China finished second behind the United States on the medal tally at the London Olympics last year, with five golds, while the once-powerful Australian team finished a disappointing seventh, with just one gold. South Africa were the other country competing in the Super Series, but it was Australia that dominated on Saturday, particularly in the men's events, winning 14 of 20 races contested.
China won four races for the evening and South Africa managed two wins, their only successes during the Super Series. Over the two nights, the host nation won 26 of 39 events, while China won 11. Although wins were hard to come by for the Chinese, Olympic 100m butterfly silver medallist Lu Ying provided a highlight by beating the fast-finishing Australian Alicia Coutts by 0.09 seconds in a thrilling conclusion to that event.
Australia had won the first five events of the evening before Lu, who also won the 50m butterfly on Friday night, prevailed. Cheng Feiyi bucked the trend when he won the men's 100m backstroke, the event in which he reached the final in London, in a time of 54.42 seconds. Wang Shun capped an excellent meet when he added the 400m individual medley to his victory in the 200m version on Friday.
Teenage superstar Ye Shiwen was the other Chinese winner on Saturday, adding the 400m individual medley to her 200m medley victory on the first night. The 16-year-old dual Olympic gold medallist made a slow start and handed the early ascendancy to Australia's Alicia Coutts, but put her rivals to the sword in the backstroke leg and careered away for a commanding win over Samantha Hamill, with Coutts back in third.
The experienced Matt Targett upset fellow Australian James Magnussen in the men's 50m freestyle. The winner's time of 22.00 seconds was just 0.02 outside his personal best, and he beat Magnussen by 0.21 seconds. Local Christian Sprenger was the male swimmer of the meet, picking up two wins on Saturday, in the men's 50m and 200m breaststroke, to add to his win in the 100m on Friday.