Zhang Lin

Zhang Lin, born on 6 January 1987 in Haidian, Beijing, is a retired Chinese swimmer, Olympic silver medallist, world champion and world record holder in the 800 metre freestyle. He specialised in the 200, 400, 800 and 1500 metre freestyle and was selected for the national team in 2002. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics he won silver in the 400 metre freestyle in 3:42.44, 0.58 seconds behind Park Tae-hwan, the first Olympic swimming medal ever won by a Chinese man. At the 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome he won the 800 metre freestyle in a world record 7:32.12 and took bronze in the 400 metre freestyle. He began swimming at seven, names Grant Hackett as his idol, and has studied at Beijing Sport University since 2016.