Gold medalist Zhang Yufei (center) of China, silver medalist Margaret Macneil (left) of Canada and bronze medalist Torri Huske of the United States react after the awarding ceremony for women's 100m butterfly at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, July 24, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

FUKUOKA, Japan - China's Zhang Yufei has targeted the world record of the women's 100 meters butterfly after winning the event at the World Aquatics Championships here on Monday.

Zhang, 200m butterfly gold winner and 100m silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, clocked 56.12 seconds to earn China the second swimming title, only minutes after Qin Haiyang won the men's 100m breaststroke event.

Her winning time is 0.64 seconds short of Swede Sarah Sjostrom's world mark of 55.48 seconds set at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Zhang is confident that the record will not stand for long. "She is my idol," Zhang said at a press conference. "I remember that I just looked at her record and dreamed that one day I will be her. After so many years' hard work, I'm close to the world record now. It's just in front of me."

ALSO READ: China claims 2 swimming titles, leads worlds gold tally with 17

"I hope that one day I will break the world record and also I can be an idol for somebody else," she added.

Zhang Yufei (second left) of China starts off during the women's 100m butterfly final at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, July 24, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Zhang revealed that it will be the right time to rewrite the mark at the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

"We all know that it is not easy to break the world record," she said. "We need to work hard. We need to find the perfect moment to do the perfect job."

"The Asian Games is the perfect chance for me. Let's just look forward to a new record."

READ MORE: Aquatics: Chen lands historic hat-trick of platform diving titles

Canada's Margaret MacNeil finished second in 56.45 seconds, and defending champion Torri Huske of the United States was third in 56.61.