18-year-old Yan Ziyi breaks Asian Games javelin record with 70.46m

China's Yan Ziyi, 18, set a new Asian Games women's javelin record with a throw of 70.46 metres on her opening attempt at the Aichi-Nagoya Games on September 27. The performance surpassed the previous Games record of 66.09 metres, set by Liu Shiying in 2018, by 4.37 metres and ranks as the sixth-longest throw in history. Yan passed on her remaining five attempts after securing gold with her first throw.

Japan's Haruka Kitaguchi, the reigning Paris Olympic champion, took silver with 62.70 metres. Kitaguchi, who threw a Japanese record 68.92 metres to win the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest earlier in September, expressed disappointment at her performance. "I was confident I could have thrown further," the 28-year-old said. Japan's Sae Takemoto claimed bronze with 62.15 metres.

Yan's achievement marks a significant milestone in her career. In May, she threw 71.74 metres at a Diamond League meeting in Xiamen, the second-best mark ever recorded and just 0.54 metres short of the world record of 72.28 metres held by Czech athlete Barbora Spotakova. After her first throw at the Asian Games, Yan said: "I didn't expect to finish it with one throw. My plan was just to make my first two throws count." She revealed she had withdrawn from the Budapest championship with a foot injury after her first attempt and felt she had disappointed people, but the Asian Games victory lifted that weight.

Yan's emergence as a dominant force comes after a rapid rise through the rankings. She is currently ranked world No. 1 and has won multiple Diamond League events. She first took up javelin after throwing a softball farther than classmates during a primary school PE class, later switching from shot put at sports school. She has set multiple world U20 records and won the U20 World Championships in 2024.

The javelin competition took place amid scrutiny of the Aichi-Nagoya Games' accommodation and transport arrangements. Despite the rainy conditions at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, Yan's record-breaking performance was a standout on day eight, when China extended its lead in the overall medal standings to 119 gold medals, ahead of Japan with 37 and South Korea with 20.