Chinese Olympic champion Liu Zige breaks women's 200m butterfly world record

JINAN, East China, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- China's Olympic champion Liu Zige demolished world record to grab the women's 200m butterfly title at the National Games on Wednesday.

Liu Zige from Shanghai competes during women's 200m butterfly final of  swimming at the 11th Chinese National Games in Jinan, east China's Shandong Province, Oct. 21, 2009. Liu won the gold with 2 minutes and 01.81 seconds, and exceeded the world record of the event.(Xinhua/Fan Jun)

The Chinese swimming sensation powered home in an amazing 2:01.81, shaving over two seconds off previous world mark of 2:03.41 set by Australian Jessica Schipper at the Rome World Championships last summer.

She was almost four seconds clear of her long-time arch rival Jiao Liuyang, runner-up of the Beijing Olympics, who posted 2:05.57for a silver medal. The bronze medal went to Kong Jie from the Chinese Army team who finished 2:05.57.

Liu's splash of speed lit up the Natatorium of Jinan. To the cheers of the exciting home fans, Liu seized the lead immediately off the pad and roared through the water to secure the victory, leaving the rest of her rivals lamenting the unreachable gap.

"I don't think the result today is fast enough for me, and there is still room for me to better the record in the future," said a smiling Liu after the competition.

It is the first swimming world record established at the Chinese National Games slated for Oct. 16-28 in Jinan of east China's Shandong province.