Japanese teenager Shin Ohashi has set a new world record in the men’s 200m breaststroke at the Asian Games, just weeks after recovering from COVID-19.
As reported by BBC Sport on Thursday, the 17-year-old stormed to gold in a time of 2:04.83, comfortably breaking the previous world record of 2:05.48 set by China’s Qin Haiyang at the 2023 World Championships.
Ohashi admitted that contracting COVID-19 caused some mental anxiety during his preparations, but said the recovery period also gave his body a chance to properly rest.
“Regarding Covid, after all, there was a part where it created a little anxiety for me mentally,” Ohashi said after his victory. “But, conversely, physically I think it was good that I was able to properly rest my body as a period of recovery.”The world-record performance was Ohashi’s second gold medal of the Games. Earlier in the competition, he shared the 100m breaststroke title with China’s Dong Zhihao.
Ohashi has been regarded as one of swimming’s brightest young talents.
He won five gold medals at the World Junior Championships last year, while French Olympic champion Léon Marchand previously described the Japanese youngster as a “scary” prospect.
His record-breaking performance adds another chapter to an impressive Asian Games campaign and establishes Ohashi as a major name to watch in international swimming.
Meanwhile, China’s Zhang Zhanshuo, 19, claimed his sixth gold medal of the Games as China won the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay.
