Asian Records Fall as Takeda Crushes 7:33.78 800 FR, Zibei Adds 25.8 50 BR at SC Worlds

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A pair of Asian records were taken down during the fifth finals session at the 2022 Short Course World Championships in Melbourne, Australia.

Shogo Takeda missed the men’s 800 free bronze medal by less than a second with a 7:33.78, but the 27-year-old distance specialist smashed the previous continental record held by Park Tae-hwan (7:37.01) by more than three seconds. Tae-hwan’s mark had stood untouched for six years since the 2016 Short Course Worlds, where he set the record en route to another Asian standard in the 1500 free (14:15.51).

Fastest 800 Free Performers from Asia

1. Shogo Takeda (JPN) – 7:33.78 (2022)
2. Tae-hwan Park (KOR) – 7:37.01 (2016)
3. Liwei Fei (CHN) – 7:37.74 (2022)
4. Yuki Ikari (JPN) – 7:37.83 (2022)
5. Woomin Kim (KOR) – 7:41.42 (2022)

Takeda took more than five seconds off his previous-best 7:39.36 from October of 2020. His new lifetime best of 7:33.78 also shaved more than four seconds off the previous Japanese record of 7:37.83 set by Yuki Ikari in January.

China’s Yan Zibei added another Asian record later in the session during the men’s 50 breaststroke semifinals. At 27 years old, Zibei dipped under the 26-second barrier for the first time with a 25.80 to qualify fourth for Sunday’s final. His previous best was a 26.22 from the 2018 World Championships.

Although his new lifetime best wasn’t enough to secure some hardware, it was good for a new continental record. Zibei lowered the previous Asian record of 25.91 swam by Yasuhiro Koseki at the 2021 Japanese Championships.

Fastest 50 Breast Performers from Asia

1. Zibei Yan (CHN) – 25.80 (2022)
2. Haiyang Qin (CHN) – 25.81 (2022)
3. Yasuhiro Koseki (JPN) – 25.91 (2021)
4. Taishi Takada (JPN) – 26.07 (2021)
5. Yuya Hinomoto (JPN) – 26.09 (2021)

Zibei’s teammate, Qin Haiyang, reached the wall just .01 seconds behind him during the 50 breast semifinals — also ahead of the previous continental record — making him the No. 2 performer in Asian history.

At 25.81, Haiyang was also quicker than his previous Chinese record of 26.12 from Chinese Nationals in October.