Wu Yanyan

Who is Wu Yanyan?

Wu Yanyan is a Chinese swimmer who is the former world record holder in the women's 200 metres individual medley. Wu set the world record in a time of 2:09.72 in Shanghai at China's National Games in October 1997.

Wu first caught attention when she won China's 1996 Olympic Trials in a world-leading 2:12.87, defeating 1992 Olympic champion Lin Li into second place. She also placed 2nd in the 400 IM in a strong 4:41.20. Much like most of her teammates, however, she eventually failed at the Atlanta Games, failing to qualify for the finals of both medley events. Had she repeated her trials times in Atlanta, she could have won gold in the 200 IM and silver in the 400. In fact, her 200 IM time was over 1 second faster than Michelle Smith's winning time in Atlanta, and ranked first globally for 1996.

One year after the Olympics, Wu set a world record of 2:09.72 at the 1997 Chinese National Games, where she also placed 2nd in the 400 IM and third in the 200 back and 200 fly. She went on to win the 200 IM at the 1998 World Championships in Perth, Australia in the 2nd fastest time ever, and also placed 4th in the 200 fly and 400 IM. After the win, her times dropped off significantly, though she managed to win the 200 IM gold at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand. She also competed in the 1999 Short Course Worlds in Hong Kong but did not medal.