In the early morning of February 17, Beijing time, the swimming competition of the World Championships in Doha continued. In the men's 200m breaststroke final, Chinese player Dong Zhihao competed. Dong Zhihao successfully won the gold medal in this event with an all-out sprint in the last 50 meters. 
During last year's World Championships in Fukuoka, Dong Zhihao set a world youth record in this event. In Doha this year, he finished seventh and second in the heats with a time of 2:11.13 in the heats and 2:09.16 in the semi-finals. In the final, Dong Zhihao started in lane 5, and his starting reaction was 062 seconds. The first 50 meters turned Dong Zhihao in 2945 seconds, ranking only 6th among all the contestants. 
Halfway through the 100-meter race, Dong Zhihao's time was 1:02.88, still ranking 6th among the competitors. In the 150m, Dong Zhihao took 1:35.76 and still ranked 6th among the competitors. In the last 50-meter sprint stage, Dong Zhihao sprinted with all his strength and surpassed other competitors one after another. Around the last 5 meters, Dong Zhihao overtook the last competitor and reached the finish line first with a time of 2:07.94. 
In the end, Dong Zhihao won the gold medal in the men's 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:07.94 with the last 50 meters, helping the Chinese delegation win the fifth gold medal in swimming at the World Championships in Doha. This is the first time that Dong Zhihao has opened the 2 minutes 08 seconds mark and created a personal PB.