Asian Games, Day Five Finals: Shin Ohashi Rips WR in 200 Breaststroke; China Pops Asian Record in 400 Freestyle Relay
Can Siobhan Haughey capture her third freestyle title of the meet? Will rising star Shin Ohashi threaten his world junior record in the 200-meter breaststroke? What will Zhang Zhanshuo do in the 800 freestyle, one day after he set an Asian record in the 200 freestyle? These are just a few of the questions that will be answered on the fifth night of action at the Asian Games in Tokyo.
Night Five features a seven-event lineup that will be jumpstarted by the finals of the women’s 50 freestyle, where Hong Kong’s Haughey will seek a victory to complement her previous gold medals in the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle. Meanwhile, Japan’s Ohashi is one of the brightest hopes in the 200 breaststroke, the owner of the world junior record and coming off a share of the gold medal in the 100 breaststroke.
Already the champion of the 200 freestyle and 1500 freestyle, China’s Zhang will chase gold in the 800 freestyle. The freestyle ace is coming off an Asian record of 1:43.49 in the 200 distance, an effort that was a career-best by nearly a second. On the last night of the meet, Zhang will contest the 400 freestyle, and it won’t be a surprise if he challenges the world record.
Here’s an event-by-event recap of the Night Five action:
Women’s 50 Freestyle
The silver medalist in the 50 freestyle at the 2025 World Championships in Singapore, China’s Wu Qingfeng secured the Asian Games crown by racing under the 24-second barrier. Wu sprinted her length of the pool in 23.98, good for a Games record and comfortably ahead of the 24.32 of Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey. The bronze medal was earned by China’s Chen Yujie, who clocked in at 24.46.
Haughey was chasing her third freestyle title of the Asian Games, having already prevailed in the 100 and 200 distances. But the pure sprint speed of Wu was too much, as the Chinese star bettered the previous Games record of 24.26, set three years ago by Zhang Yufei.
Men’s 50 Butterfly
During the prelims of the 50 butterfly, Japan’s Shoon Mitsunaga set a Games standard of 23.19. However, that record didn’t last long, as Bahrain’s Michel Arkhangelskiy zipped to a swim of 22.91 in the final to grab the gold medal. Arkhangelskiy equaled his own Asian record, his first 22.91 arriving during the summer in France. In the final, Mitsunaga was faster than the morning, going 23.06 for the silver medal. Bronze was claimed by China’s Wang Changhao in 23.25.
Women’s 200 Breaststroke
Japan’s Kotomi Kato turned in a come-from-behind performance to ascend to the top step of the podium. Touching the wall in 2:22.57, Kato edged Korea’s Park Sieun (2:22.69), who had the lead at the final turn. Heading into the last lap, Kato faced a .72 deficit, but she reeled in Park over the closing 50 meters, a split of 36.57 getting the job done. Park closed in 37.41 and was followed in the bronze-medal position by China’s Zhu Leiju (2:25.51).
Men’s 200 Breaststroke
History was made by Japan’s Shin Ohashi in the 200 breaststroke, as he popped a world record of 2:04.83 to become the first athlete to break the 2:05 barrier in the event. Ohashi lopped 1.76 seconds off his previous best, the 2:06.59 that made him the world junior record holder. Now, he is the overall standard bearer in the event, not a surprise given his consistent rise over the past two years.
Full Coverage of Shin Ohashi’s World Record
Men’s 800 Freestyle
On the heels of his Asian record in the 200 freestyle and an earlier victory in the 1500 freestyle, China’s Zhang Zhanshuo added a third solo title to his Asian Games collection. Behind a mark of 7:42.49, Zhang picked up the gold medal ahead of Japan’s Kaito Tabuchi, who set a national record of 7:43.86, and Korea’s Kim Junwoo, who equaled Tabuchi . Zhang trailed Tabuchi as late as the 650-meter mark, but the Chinese star had too much down the stretch and pulled away.
Zhang has been nothing short of sensational in Tokyo. He split sub-1:43 to propel China to an Asian record in the 800 freestyle relay and his winning time of 1:43.49 in the 200 freestyle was good for an Asian standard. Zhang will close out his meet on Friday with the 400 freestyle, where a run at the world record seems plausible.
Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay
China capped men’s competition on Night Five with an Asian record in the 400 freestyle relay. The foursome of Zhao Jiayue, Wang Haoyu, Zhang Zhanshuo and Pan Zhanle combined for a time of 3:10.60, that effort beating the 3:10.88 from China in 2023. Zhao led off for the Chinese squad in 48.43 and was followed by Wang’s split of 47.77. On the back half, China relied on two of its biggest names, with Zhang going 47.65 and Pan, the Olympic champ in the 100 freestyle, splitting 46.75.
Korea snared the silver medal in 3:11.69, its podium spot aided by a 47.50 leadoff from Hwang Sunwoo and an anchor leg of 46.84 from Kim Youngbeom. The bronze went to Japan in 3:11.96.
Women’s 800 Freestyle Relay
China ended the evening session with a victory in the 800 freestyle relay, as the quartet of Li Jiaping, Liu Yaxin, Yu Yiting and Li Bingjie combined to go 7:49.37. That mark was enough to defeat Japan, which was 10 seconds back for the silver in 7:59.53. The bronze went to Korea in 8:01.87.