Hosts win 4X200m freestyle relay

Wednesday was a good day for hosts Shandong, with the women winning the four by 200-meter freesyle relay in the pool.

Zhejiang team led by Yang Yu, and Shanghai team led by Pang Jiaying were the strong title contenders in the relay.

Shandong team led by Kong Xiangtong cheered on by the home supporters. They start in the middle line.
 

But it was underdogs Beijing who were first to grab the lead. Liu Jing in line 2 made the turn first, and held a slim margin ahead of Shanghai's Zhu Yingwen of less than 0.3 seconds. That lead has increased to more than a second in Liu's last 100 meters. Beijing's hopes of winning a relay title on the rise.

Beijing's second swimmer Liu Siwen was the first into the pool after the handover.

But she couldn't hold on to the lead. The Shandong team overtook them and grabed the lead with the help of their second swimmer Chen Qian.  Shanghai's Tang Yi was following closely behind, the two teams virtually neck and neck.

Song Wenyan extended Shandong's advantage, setting up a comfortable cushion for their final swimmer Kong Xiangtong.

In the final stage, Kong held on and won the title with a time of 7 minutes 48.21. This is the second swimming gold for the hosts Shandong.

Zhejiang overtook Shanghai to clinch the silver with a time of 7:50.92.

Beijing team finished at 4th place.

The average age of the young Shandong team is only 20 years old, this National Games victory on home soil  leaving them with memories that they will carry forever.