China's breaststroke specialist Qin Haiyang on Friday acknowledged he has yet to "fully recover" from injury despite clinching two gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships.
After scraping into the 200-meter breaststroke final as the eighth seed, Qin powered home in a season-best 2:07.41, adding to the 100m title he won earlier in the week.
The 26-year-old superstar had dominated the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, where he swept all three breaststroke events and set a world record of 2:05.48 in the 200m. However, injury forced him out of the 2024 Doha Worlds, and he left the Paris Olympics without an individual medal.
"I don't think I'm fully back yet," Qin said after Friday's race. "But it's not just about the gold medal. Whether I won today or not, what matters most to me is swimming a good race."
"Before coming to Singapore, I was aiming for somewhere between 2:07 and 2:06. I didn't hit that, but today's time is still my best of the year. I'm proud of it, and it is a positive sign."
Qin's victory also brought his Singapore medal tally to four, following bronze in the 50m breaststroke and silver in the 4x100m mixed medley relay.
"That's not easy," he said. "This gold means more than just me -- it's for our entire team."
