By Terin Frodyma on SwimSwam
Xu Jiayu, the 31-year-old Chinese backstroke ace, is just coming off breaking the Asian Record in the 50 backstroke in Hangzhou, China in 23.92, which moved him up to a tie for the 3rd fastest performer all-time in the event in 23.92.
Despite the major swim, Xu feels that his reign atop the backstroke for China could be nearing its end, and that the talent that sits behind him may be on their way up.
All-Time Performers, Men’s 50 Backstroke (LCM)
Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 23.55 – 2023 Hunter Armstrong (USA), 23.71 – 2022 Justin Ress (USA) / Xu Jiayu, 23.92 – 2022 / 2026 – Shaine Casas (USA), 24.00 – 2022 Pavel Samusenko (RUS), 24.01 – 2025 Liam Tancock (GBR), 24.04 – 2009 Camille Lacourt (FRA), 24.07 – 2010 Robert Glinta (ROU), 24.12 – 2018 Pieter Coetze (RSA), 24.17 – 2025In a report by the Chinese news outlet Tide News, Xu joked about his age, especially compared to the rest of the competition in backstroke events in China.
“I feel like a living fossil right now, and I hope to give my juniors more motivation,” Xu told Tide News.
In the 100 backstroke at the Chinese National Championships, Xu turned in the fastest time at 53.47, though the two swimmers behind him were either a decade or more younger than he was: 21-year-old Jiang Chenglin was 2nd in 53.85, while 22-year-old Wang Zicheng finished 3rd in 54.06. In that event, Xu was the only swimmer who was born before the year 2000.
“Back then, I aimed to challenge the veteran athletes for the championship. Now, I hope more young athletes can step up and surpass me,” Xu said. “In 2014, I swam a time of 52.43 seconds, which is almost the same as 52.47 seconds. Now I am challenging the problems that come with age. To maintain the level I was at 12 years ago, I have to put in more effort than I was 12 years ago.”
In November, Xu swam a 52.39 100 back at the 2025 Chinese National Games, which ranks as the fastest performance in the world this season.
2025-2026 LCM Men 100 BACK
Xu CHNJiayu11/1252.392PieterCOETZERSA52.4004/143OliverMORGANGBR52.4104/164KlimentKOLESNIKOVRUS52.5106/105ApostolosCHRISTOU GRE52.5305/10View Top 26»Xu admitted that his training focus still revolves around the 200 backstroke, in which he is the 10th-fastest performer ever, though he indicated that it is the “most painful” event. This season, Xu’s fastest time of 1:56.63 puts him in a tie for the 17th in the world this season with Germany’s Cornelius Jahn.
“Short distances only require training the nerves and strength, while long distances require a much larger training volume, which is difficult for me to adapt to right now,” Xu said in the report from Tide News.
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