China's star swimmers Zhang Yufei, Qin Haiyang and Wang Shun will compete in the last major tournament before the Paris Olympic Games, the China National Swimming Championships, which kick off on Friday.

Qin Haiyang of China competes during the men's 200m breaststroke final at the World Aquatics Championships 2023 held in Fukuoka, Japan, July 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)

The competition, which lasts for nine days, will be the last trial for China's Olympic squad and sets a similar format as the upcoming Olympics.

China's swimmers amassed an impressive tally of seven golds at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha in February, when Olympic champions Zhang Yufei, Wang Shun, as well as stars Qin Haiyang and Xu Jiayu, opted out. They will show up this time.

The "Butterfly Queen", Zhang, will compete in various events including the 100m and 200m butterfly.

Qin will compete in the men's 100m and 200m breaststroke after pocketing gold medals in last year's Asian Games.

Olympic gold medalist Wang will still be the favorite in the men's 200m medley, after dominating the event in the Tokyo Olympics and Hangzhou Asiad.

Pan Zhanle hopes to make another breakthrough in the 100m freestyle and 200m freestyle. The 19-year-old emerged as one of China's brightest talents in Doha, shattering the world record of the men's 100m freestyle with a time of 46.80 seconds.

Tang Qianting also set to impress the local fans after winning gold in the women's 100m breaststroke in Doha.

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