China's Ning Zetao tops 100m freestyle heats at 2015 FINA World Championships

Ning Zetao

Kazan (Russia), Aug 5 Chinese swimmer Ning Zetao clocked 48.11 seconds in the men's 100 metres freestyle heats to make the semifinals with the top position in overall rankings at the World Championships here on Wednesday.

Zetao’s time equalled the one set by Federico Grabich for fourth in the world rankings as the 22-year-old moved into the top 5 in the world. At the 2014 Asian Games, he won gold medals in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle, 4 x 100-meter freestyle relay and 4 x 100-meter medley relay

Ning, the Asian record holder of the event, has set a modest goal of reaching the final which has long been dominated by non-Asians, reports Xinhua.

"I am in good form and I hope I can do better in the semis," said Ning.

Australia’s Cameron McEvoy ranked third in the world with a 48.06, qualified second in 48.33. Russia’s Vlad Morozov top-ranked in the world with a 47.98, took the third seed in 48.46.

Grabich checked in with a fourth-seeded 48.48, while France’s Jeremy Stravius put up a fifth-seeded time of 48.52.

Belgium’s Pieter Timmers (48.58), The Netherlands’ Sebastian Verschuren (48.61) and USA’s Nathan Adrian (48.61) rounded out the top eight.