HUANGSHAN, China, Oct. 20 -- A bunch of medals from big events didn't mean Wang Shun had a smooth past year. On the contrary, the top-class medley swimmer called it a specially tough year, but he managed to go through it.
Wang, 23, showed up here Friday morning, finishing 17th in the men's 100m breaststroke heats at the Chinese National Swimming Championships.
"I only resumed training four days ago and also gained some weight during the vacation," said Wang who took the tournament more like a warmup session after having a rest of one month.
In September, Wang proved he is still the best medley swimmer of China by keeping two individual titles at the National Games. He also showed his power on international stage by taking a bronze medal from the 200m individual medley at the FINA World Championships last July.
Even so, Wang felt the past year was tough and full of challenges.
"I suffered therapeutic pneumothorax two weeks ahead of the World Championships trials in April," explained Wang. "The doctor suggested a two-week rest for me but I went back to the pool only after three days."
"On one hand, I worried about my fitness," recalled Wang. "On the other hand, I didn't want to feel regret for both the World Championships and the National Games because I have been training so hard for such a long time."
Although Wang was not perfectly fit for the World Championships trials, he managed to clinch the men's 200m individual medley title with a national record of one minute and 56.16 seconds.
Three months later, Wang was 0.12 seconds away from his personal best in the four-lap event but still brought home a bronze medal as he did from Rio Olympic Games last year.
"I was troubled by jet leg during the World Championships," said Wang who tuned up in the United States then tried hard to acclimate himself in Budapest. "But I shouldn't take it as an excuse. I need to solve the problem."
The quadrennial National Games in Tianjin also proved to be a tough journey for Wang.
"I was upset at that time," said Wang. "After I failed to perform my best at the World Championships, I was unable to refresh up at the National Games as it's only one month apart. What's worse, I had a low fever for several days ahead of the National Games."
Wang said he was lucky to have some achievements this year and he felt stronger mentally after the tough experience.
"On the timing of my personal best, I didn't improve a lot this year. But my mentality boosts up."
As his first name Shun means 'going on smoothly' in Chinese, Wang believes as long as he keeps making progress, he will have his day of glory someday.
Wang is scheduled to compete in the short-course World Cup in Beijing next month. Last year, he won the 200m individual medley at the short-course World championships in Windsor, Canada.