Source: CCTV.com

02-11-2008 13:52

We continue the "To Be The Best" series with a look at Wu Peng. 2008 is a big year for China's top male swimmer. The 20-year-old carries the hopes of a nation as China's best bet for a swimming medal at the Beijing Olympic Games. In today's feature, we'll take a look back on Wu Peng's swimming career and find out how his final preparations for the Olympics are going.

Wu Peng

At the end of December, Wu Peng found himself in Kunming, in southwest China's Yunnan province, for a training camp, a place he had been to countless times before. Each year, he had two training camps here. But this time around, the training would be even more rigorous, with the Beijing Olympics edging ever closer.

The highlight of his career so far came in March last year in Melbourne, when Wu took silver at the World Championships. But Olympic success would taste even sweeter.

Wu burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old when he bagged three gold medals at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, Japan.

3 years later, the teenager grabbed a bronze in the 200-meter butterfly in Montreal World Championships.

In 2006, Wu Peng again defended his title at the Asian Games in Doha.

At the 2007 World Champioships in Melbourne, Wu had a chance to challenge the Olympic champion, American Michael Phelps.

Wu said, "My goal for the Melbourne World Championships was to at least get a medal. I got a bronze medal at the Montreal World Championships in 2005, but at the time, Michael Phelps wasn't racing in that event."

March 17th saw the men's 200-meter butterfly semifinal and Wu lined up in the same group as Phelps. Wu Peng made a strong start to go into an early lead, but Phelps came back strongly to win, pushing Wu into second place.

Wu said, "In the semifinal, I was in good form and felt relaxed. And I almost beat Phelps. At the time, I thought I could do even better in the final, and at least swim the same time as I did in the Asian Games."

The final came a day later and Wu Peng had another crack at Phelps.

But the American was at his imperious best and led from start to finish, leaving the other swimmers in his wake and with too much to do.

Over the final 50 meters, Phelps kept up his astonishing pace to demolish the world record and win gold. The American wiped a massive 1.61 seconds off his own record, set one month before.

Wu Peng finished a distant second, but still provided China with its first swimming medal of the championships.