China's Ye clinches 400m medley in Beijing

BEIJING (AFP) –

Ye Shiwen, pictured in action on November 2, stole the show at Beijing’s short-course World Cup meet on Saturday, clinching the 400m medley, her second victory at the two-day event.

China’s swimming golden girl Ye Shiwen stole the show at Beijing’s short-course World Cup meet on Saturday, clinching the 400m medley, her second victory at the two-day event.

The teenage swimming sensation — who claimed before the competition that she was only 85 percent fit — followed on from her stunning victory at the 200m medley on Friday with an equally impressive display in the 400m race.

Ye finished the race on 4mins 26.93 seconds, ahead of Hungarians Katinka Hosszu and Zsuzsanna Jakabos.

However, Ye said she was in no mood to celebrate her victory.

“I am not satisfied with the result. I still have a lot of problems and I need to improve,” she told the state-run Xinhua news agency.

“I felt tired after the race, but I was not nervous during the final, because though I was behind in the first 200m, I knew that I can catch up.”

The 16-year-old who stunned the sporting world with two gold medals in the women’s 200m and 400m individual medley at the London Olympics appears to be in top form despite only returning to the pool for less than a month after her spectacular summer.

She was the firm favourite for the passionate home crowd at Beijing’s National Aquatics Centre, otherwise known as the Water Cube, the main aquatics venue for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Hosszu’s winnings moved up to $51,750 on the second day of the eight-stage competition, and remains on course to collect the $100,000 World Cup bonus cash as the top earner in the series.

The Beijing World Cup is the sixth stop of the FINA Swimming World Cup 2012 tour.