GWANGJU, South Korea, July 24 (Xinhua) -- China's Olympic champion Sun Yang competed in his third and last individual final and says he is satisfied with his 6th place finish in the men's 800m freestyle at the 18th FINA World Swimming Championships here on Wednesday.
Sun finished sixth with a time of 7:45.01, while defending champion Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy retained the title in 7:39.27, a new European record, followed by Henrik Christianse 7:41.28.
It was Sun's seventh race at the worlds after he claimed victory in the 400m freestyle for a record fourth time in a row and then was crowned in the 200m on Tuesday.
"It was a big success as I finished the 800m race. I swam faster than I expected. I had competed in the 3,000m during the last four days and I was exhausted and had sore legs after 200m mark," said Sun, who is competing in his seventh worlds.
Sun said the 200m freestyle was a totally different race from the long distance, no matter his previous training and competition experience. "The 200m is a kind of short-mid distance and my muscle got hard after the heat, the semifinal and the final. No 200m swimmer competes in the 800m like me, it was a disadvantage for me," explained the 27-year-old.
"If I want to compete in the 800m, I may consider to swim in some open water races for better strength. And the most difficult part for me is how to deal with three events in a tight competition schedule, as today is exactly one year to go until the Tokyo Olympic Games."
Sun will also compete in the freestyle relay event in Gwangju.
