Luohu-born swimmer Chen Juner reacts in a swimming tournament in this file photo.

Luohu-born swimmer Chen Juner won his fourth individual gold medal of the Swimming World Cup series October 9, taking the men’s 200-meter butterfly at the Tashkent stop in Uzbekistan in 1 minute 49.98 seconds. 

The Shenzhen athlete carried his winning form over from the previous stop in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan.

Chen claimed the men’s 100-meter butterfly title in Tashkent a day earlier, finishing in 49.75 seconds — 0.35 seconds ahead of Japanese swimmer Ogata So.

In the 200-meter final, Chen used his trademark fast pace and strong turns and finish to hold off a late challenge from Ogata So, securing the event title for the fourth time against his main rival.

At the Baku stop, held from October 1 to 3, Chen won gold in both the 100 and 200-meter butterfly and bronze in the 50-meter event. His 1:49.37 performance in the 200-meter butterfly also broke the national record he had previously set.

Born in 2004, Chen grew up in Shenzhen and began swimming as a child. At age nine, he was selected by Luohu District to join the swimming team of the Shenzhen Sports Work Brigade. He has trained for many years under national-level coach Yu Jingang.

Yu attributed Chen’s success at the World Cup to years of rigorous training. He noted that Chen won a National Games title at 17, broke a national record at 19, competed at the Olympic Games at 20 and set an Asian record at the World Championships at 21.

“Everyone in competitive sport wants to win gold, but an athlete’s condition, opponents and performance on the day all matter,” Yu said. “Although Chen’s results have fluctuated, he remains one of China’s most consistent male butterfly swimmers.”