Wang Shun celebrates after winning the men's 200 meters individual medley final on July 30. Photo: IC

Chinese Olympic gold medalist swimmer Wang Shun made a splash on Monday by winning two gold medals at the 14th National Games.  

Wang and the Zhejiang Team took first place in the men's 4X100m freestyle relay final and men's 4X200 medley relay final on Monday. He also ranked first in the men's 200m freestyle semifinals with a time of 1 minute 48 seconds that same day, which gives the athlete an entrance ticket to Tuesday's finals. 

Netizens called Wang's performance on Monday the "Wang cyclone" not only for his "cost-effective" performance - winning two of three competitions in 90 minutes - but also because the two new medals brings his gold medal total at the games to 12, matching the National Games record of controversial swimming star Sun Yang. 

"Competing three times in 90 minutes was a test not only for the athlete's physical strength, but also his mentality, staying calm to perform solidly and staying active to maintain a good competitive status, impressive," Wang Mingyi, an amateur butterfly swimmer, told the Global Times on Tuesday.   

Despite Wang Shun's performance, some people still said he has a way to go to catch up to Sun, who was once seen as China's most prominent swimmer but is currently suspended from competing at the games due to a doping scandal, since Sun's gold medals were won in single's competitions while Wang's were mainly won through team relay races. 

However, Wang Mingyi disagrees with this way of thinking. 

"I think comparing athletes' effort in such a way is inappropriate. Team competitions are also demanding of an athlete's strength, and can be even more demanding of one's coordination and teamwork," Wang noted.   

I can definitely see him maintaining the good impetus he got at the recent Olympic Games. He is a natural athlete. Just like he once said, he will swim to 2025. I see his potential is far beyond 12 gold medals," Qiu Qiu, a fan of the Chinese swim team, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

Wang also won a gold medal as well as broke the Asian record at the Tokyo Olympic Games during the men's 200m individual medley competition. 

"The Olympic Games and the National Games are very close to each other, and they are both competitions with different schedules. But it is our duty to overcome difficulties, as athletes," Wang once told media after the competition.