Japan's 17-year-old wunderkind Shin Ohashi set the men's 200 metres breaststroke world record on the way to Asian Games gold on Thursday, soaking up the moment in front of a thrilled home crowd.
Ohashi's blistering time of 2:04.83 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre eclipsed the previous mark (2:05.48) set by China's Qin Haiyang at the 2023 world championships in Fukuoka.
"The world record was my goal so I'm very happy to get it," he told reporters.
"Thanks to my fans, my family, all who supported me.
"My next goal is for the gold medal at the world championships."
Kazakhstan's Denis Petrashov finished 3.84 seconds behind to claim silver ahead of South Korean Cho Sung Jae (2:08.76).
“There was a strong rival in the breaststroke. It went exactly as I had thought," Cho said of Ohashi.
“Honestly, I never imagined a world record would come out of it. I am delighted to come away with a medal."
Ohashi's triumph comes days after French great Leon Marchand, the Olympic 200m breaststroke champion, praised the Japanese swimmer as a major threat.
“I’m scared. I’m very scared of him,” Olympic 200m breaststroke champion Marchand said of Ohashi earlier this week.
“He’s still so young. His coach is really good. I think his entourage, the people around him, are really good, so I hope he’s going to keep improving."
Source: Reuters
--Agencies
