Japanese teenager Shin Ohashi smashed the men’s 200m breaststroke world record on Thursday, winning gold at the Asian Games in a time of 2min 04.83sec.
The 17-year-old shaved more than half a second off the previous world record of 2:05.48, set by China’s Qin Haiyang in July 2023.
Ohashi had already claimed gold in the 100m breaststroke earlier in the Games after finishing in a dead heat with China’s Dong Zhihao.
“My target has always been to break the world record and I’m so happy to have done it,” Ohashi said.
“A lot happened before this competition but a lot of people helped me get to this point and I am very grateful to them.”
Ohashi dominated the 200m final from the start, finishing 3.84 seconds ahead of silver medallist Denis Petrashov of Kyrgyzstan.
From the moment he took the lead, the race became a battle against the clock as he maintained his pace to set the new world mark.
The teenager now has his sights set on further major titles, including Olympic gold.
“My next goal is to win gold at next year’s world championships and then go on to win gold at the Olympics,” he said.
“I don’t want to be satisfied and I want to feel these emotions again.”
Qin, the previous world-record holder, did not compete in the 200m breaststroke at this year’s Asian Games.
AFP
