Japan's Shin Ohashi, 17, breaks 200m breaststroke world record at Asian Games

Japan's 17-year-old swimmer Shin Ohashi broke the men's 200-metre breaststroke world record at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Thursday, September 24, 2026, clocking 2 minutes 4.83 seconds at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. His time eclipsed the previous world record of 2:05.48 set by China's Qin Haiyang at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, making Ohashi the first man to break the 2:05 barrier in the event. He also set a new world junior record, surpassing his own previous personal best of 2:06.59.

Ohashi's achievement marked his second gold medal at the Games, following his earlier win in the 100-metre breaststroke, where he shared gold with China's Dong Zhihao at 58.64 seconds. He also earned silver medals in both the men's and mixed 4x100m medley relays. According to Olympic sports historian Bill Mallon, Ohashi became the youngest male swimmer since Michael Phelps to break an individual world record in long-course metres; Phelps first broke a world record at age 17 in August 2002 when he set the 400m individual medley mark. Ohashi is the sixth different man to break the 200m breaststroke world record in the last decade.

Kazakhstan's Denis Petrashov finished second with 2:08.67, followed by South Korea's Cho Sung-jae in bronze with 2:08.76. Ohashi's performance has drawn international attention, with French Olympic champion Leon Marchand, who is competing at the Games as a medal presenter, expressing concern about the teenager's potential. "I'm scared. I'm very scared of him," Marchand said. "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."

Ohashi, who made his senior major international debut at August 2025's Pan Pacific Championships in California, has rapidly emerged as one of Japan's brightest swimming prospects. He was the 2025 World Junior silver medalist in the 200m breaststroke. In an interview after his record-breaking performance, Ohashi said he initially targeted a time in the 2:03 range but his confidence grew after clocking 2:09.00 in the morning heats. He has set his sights on winning gold at the 2027 World Championships and ultimately competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, with aspirations to swim 2:02.00 or even 2:01.00 in future competitions.