Sun Yang became only the second man to defend the 800 meters men's freestyle title at the FINA World Championships when he swam to victory in Barcelona.
China's He Zi trailed by as many as five points before the last dive, which pushed her to win the gold medal.
China's swimming team gather at Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital International Airport before they head to Barcelona for the ongoing FINA World Championships on July 22, 2013.
Chinese divers Chen Roulin and Liu Huixia won the second gold medal of the day on Monday after they conquered the women's 10-meter synchronized platform.
Russian swimmers Svetlana Romashina and her new partner Svetlana Kolesnichenko won the gold medal in the synchronized swimming technical duet.
Olympic and world champion Sun Yang is preparing for the Barcelona world championships without his long time mentor Zhu Zhigen following their falling out.
China's diving diva claims sixth world title in synchronized event
The biennial FINA world championships begin Saturday and for the first time in more than a decade Michael Phelps won't be competing.
The South Korean city of Gwangju will host the FINA world championships in 2019 while the capital of Hungary, Budapest, will host the event in 2021.
Barcelona opened on Friday evening the 15th FINA World Championships at the Palau Sant Jordi with an appeal to preserve water as a source of life amid a spectacle of water, lights and sound.
Performers participate in the opening ceremony of the World Swimming Championships at the Sant Jordi arena in Barcelona, July 19, 2013. The World Swimming Championships will take place July 20 to August 4.
There will be over 800 doping tests conducted at the world swimming championships.
More than 800 doping tests will be conducted during the swimming world championships slated for July 19 to August 4 in Barcelona.