China rallies behind Pan Zhanle after Australian coach’s disbelief at world record swim

• Brett Hawke said win in 100m free not ‘humanly possible’
• Accusations reply that Hawke, not in Paris, is sore loser

Chinese state and social media have rallied behind Olympic gold medal winner Pan Zhanle after Australian coach Brett Hawke said the world-record win in Paris was not “humanly possible”.

Pan won China’s first gold medal of the Paris Games in the 100 metre freestyle, beating the world record he already held, by shaving 0.4 seconds off his time. The 19-year-old finished in 46.60 seconds, ahead of Australian swimmer Kyle Chalmers and Romania’s David Popovici.

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