Ye Shiwen competes during the national swimming championships. [Photo/hangzhou.com.cn]

Chinese Olympic champion Ye Shiwen claimed the women's 200m breaststroke gold medal at the national swimming championships on April 24 and qualified for the Paris Olympics.

This was a hard-won victory for Ye, who was dealt a huge blow just three days ago when she ranked 11th in the 400m medley, failing to qualify for the finals.

Ye rose to fame when she won two golds at the 2012 London Olympics at the age of 16. She retired in 2017 after an unsuccessful Rio Olympics before returning to the pool in 2019. She failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics and announced retirement again.

Ye made her second comeback in 2022 and won a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year. The ongoing national swimming championships in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, would be her last chance to secure a spot in the Paris Games.

In preparation for the Paris Olympics, Ye dedicated herself to training during the Chinese New Year holiday, foregoing rest and immersing herself in winter training. Despite encountering injuries a month before the swimming championships, which disrupted her training rhythm, her determination to continue never wavered.

After her victory in the 200m breaststroke, Ye offered advice to young athletes, emphasizing the inevitability of setbacks and the importance of resilience in the face of adversity.

Ye claims gold in the women's 200m breaststroke. [Photo/hangzhou.com.cn]