Shin Ohashi, 17, Breaks Men's 200m Breaststroke World Record at Asian Games

Shin Ohashi broke the men's 200m breaststroke world record at the Asian Games 2026. The 17-year-old from Japan won gold in 2:04.83 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on Thursday, September 24. He is the first swimmer to go under 2:05 in the event.

Ohashi took control from the start and raced the clock. He finished 3.84 seconds ahead of silver medallist Denis Petrashov of Kyrgyzstan. Cho Sung-jae of South Korea took bronze in 2:08.76.

The old record was 2:05.48. China's Qin Haiyang set it in July 2023. Ohashi cut more than half a second off that mark. Qin did not swim the 200m at these Games.

It was Ohashi's second gold of the meet. He had earlier shared the 100m breaststroke title with China's Dong Zhihao after a dead heat in 58.64. A day after the record, he finished third in the 50m breaststroke, so he missed out on a hat-trick of golds.

Ohashi said he had Covid and a fever of about 39 degrees days before the Games began. He said the forced rest helped him. "My target has always been to break the world record," he said. He now looks like the man to beat at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.