2023 Asian Games: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

19TH ASIAN GAMES

• Sunday, September 24th – Friday, September 29th (swimming)
• Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena, Hangzhou, China
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Entries
• Results

DAY 2 FINALS SCHEDULE

• Men’s 50 Backstroke – Final
• Women’s 50 Backstroke – Final
• Men’s 50 Freestyle – Final
• Women’s 200 Freestyle – Final
• Men’s 100 Breaststroke – Final
• Women’s 200 Individual Medley – Final
• Men’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay – Final

The second day of the 2023 Asian Games is here. After an action-packed first day of the meet, it looks like the momentum should keep rolling in Hangzhou.

The men’s 100 breast is tonight, which means all eyes will be on Chinese superstar Qin Haiyang. Haiyang has dominated men’s breaststroke in 2023, and he isn’t stopping anytime soon. He cracked the Asian Games Record in the event this morning, swimming a 58.35. Not only was that good for a new Championship Record, Haiyang led the field by 1.65 seconds that morning. The only question coming into tonight is whether or not Haiyang will make a run at his Asian Record of 57.69.

The women’s 200 free ought to be a great race. China’s Li Bingjie led the field this morning with a 1:58.90, finishing as the only swimmer under 2:00. While Bingjie certainly has a chance tonight, she’ll have to contend with Asian Record holder Siobhan Haughey (Hong Kong). Haughey was a 2:00.75 this morning, however, she holds the AR at 1:53.92.

Following his historic sub-47 100 free yesterday, China’s Pan Zhanle is back in action in the men’s 50 free tonight. Zhanle clocked a 22.47 in prelims this morning, which should have been a pretty relaxed swim for him. It won’t be a walk in the park for Zhanle, though, as South Korea’s Yuchan Ji broke the Asian Games Record this morning with a 21.84.

MEN’S 50 BACKSTROKE – FINAL

• World Record: 23.71 – Hunter Armstrong, United States (2022)
• Asian Record: 24.24 – Junya Koga, Japan (2009)
• Asian Games Record: 24.28 – Junya Koga, Japan (2014)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Xu Jiayu (China) – 24.38
• SILVER: Wang Gukailai (China) – 24.88
• BRONZE: Ryosuke Irie (Japan) – 25.15

China is off to a great start yet again today. After sweeping the gold medals in yesterday’s action, China found themselves on top of the podium once again, seeing Xu Jiayu win the men’s 50 back handily with a 24.38. Jiayu won convincingly, touching exactly 0.5 seconds ahead of teammate Wang Gukailai, who won the silver medal.

Jiayu was just off the Asian Games Record of 24.28, which has stood since 2014. He was also only 0.14 seconds off the Asian Record in the event, which has stood since 2009.

Japan’s Ryosuke Irie picked up a bronze medal, swimming a 25.15.

WOMEN’S 50 BACKSTROKE – FINAL

• World Record: 26.98 – Liu Xiang, China (2018)
• Asian Record: 26.98 – Liu Xiang, China (2018)
• Asian Games Record: 26.98 – Liu Xiang, China (2018)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Wang Xueer (China) – 27.35
• SILVER: Wan Letian (China) – 27.41
• BRONZE: Miki Takahashi (Japan) – 28.21

For the second event in a row this evening, China went 1-2. Not only did the Chinese duo grab gold and silver, they were clearly separated from the rest of the field.

Wang Xueer led the way, swimming a 27.35. She touched just ahead of teammate Wan Letian, who swam a 27.41 for silver. Xueer and Letian were the only swimmers in the field tonight to go under 28 seconds.

Once again, it was Japan grabbing the bronze medal, with Miki Takahashi touching 3rd in 28.21.

MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• World Record: 20.91 – Cesar Cielo, Brazil (2009)
• Asian Record: 21.67 – Shinri Shioura, Japan (2019)
• Asian Games Record: 21.84 – Yuchan Ji, South Korea (2023)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Yuchan Ji (South Korea) – 21.72 (ASIAN GAMES RECORD)
• SILVER: Ian Ho (Hong Kong) – 21.87
• BRONZE: Pan Zhanle (China) – 21.92

For the second time today, South Korea’s Yuchan Ji broke the Asian Games Record in the men’s 50 free. After clocking a 21.84 in prelims this morning, Ji roared to victory in 21.72 tonight, taking another 0.12 off the record mark. With that swim, Ji also lowered the South Korean Record in the event.

Coming in just off the Asian Record of 21.67, Ji led a tight pack into the finish. Hong Kong’s Ian Ho finished 2nd in 21.87, earning the silver medal. With that swim, Ho was just 0.01 seconds off his own Hong Kong Record of 21.86, which he swam earlier this year.

Despite his historic 46.97 in the 100 free last night, China’s Pan Zhanle came in 3rd tonight in the 50 free, swimming a 21.92. Though he finished with the bronze medal, that swim still represents a personal best for Zhanle in the event, as well as his first time under 22 seconds.

Of note, with Zhanle going under 22 seconds for the first time in the 50 free, he’s now the first swimmer in history to go sub-22 in the 50 free, sub-47 in the 100 free, and sub-1:45 in the 200 free.

WOMEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• World Record: 1:52.85 – Mollie O’Callaghan, Australia (2023)
• Asian Record: 1:53.92 – Siobhan Haughey, Hong Kong (2021)
• Asian Games Record: 1:56.65 – Zhu Qianwei, China (2010)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Siobhan Haughey (Hong Kong) – 1:54.12 (ASIAN GAMES RECORD)
• SILVER: Li Bingjie (China) – 1:56.00
• BRONZE: Liu Yaxin (China) – 1:56.43

Siobhan Haughey looked exceptional in the women’s 200 free final tonight, speeding to a 1:54.12 to claim Hong Kong’s first gold medal of these championships. Not only did Haughey win by nearly 2 seconds, she shattered the Asian Games Record, which had stood at 1:56.65 since 2010.

It was a phenomenal swim by Haughey, coming in just off her personal best of 1:53.92, which is also the Asian Record in the event. She put together a great race tonight, going out in 55.68 on the first 100m, then coming home in 58.44 (29.58/28.86).

China’s Li Bingjie had a very good swim for 2nd tonight, swimming a 1:56.00 to earn silver. Of note, Bingjie was also under the Asian Games Record with her swim. Her teammate, Liu Yaxin, came in 3rd tonight with a 1:56.43, also coming in under the Asian Games Record.

MEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE – FINAL

• World Record: 56.88 – Adam Peaty, Great Britain (2019)
• Asian Record: 57.69 – Qin Haiyang, China (2023)
• Asian Games Record: 58.35 – Qin Haiyang, China (2023)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Qin Haiyang (China) – 57.76 (ASIAN GAMES RECORD)
• SILVER: Yan Zibei (China) – 59.09
• BRONZE: Dongyeol Choi (South Korea) – 59.28

For the 3rd event in a row the Asian Games Record went down, and for the 3rd event in a row, the record was truly shattered. China’s Qin Haiyang blew away his 58.35 from this morning, speeding to a 57.76 for gold tonight.

It looked like Haiyang was going to dip under his own Asian Record of 57.69, as he was out in 26.69 tonight, which was faster than his opening split on his AR swim. He just didn’t quite have it coming home tonight, slowing to 31.07 on the 2nd 50, which put him into the finish 0.07 seconds behind his AR mark.

Nonetheless, a 57-point-anything is an exceptional swim in the 100 breasts, and Haiyang has lowered the Championship Record by a massive amount over the course of today. Additionally, Haiyang’s swim tonight is the 17th-fastest performance all-time in the event.

Chinese teammate Yan Zibei put up a very solid swim for silver tonight, clocking a 59.09.

South Korea’s Dongyeol Choi grabbed the bronze medal with a 59.28. For Choi, the performance marks a new South Korean Record in the event.

WOMEN’S 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – FINAL

• World Record: 2:06.12 – Katinka Hosszu, Hungary (2015)
• Asian Record: 2:07.57 – Ye Shiwen, China (2012)
• Asian Games Record: 2:08.34 – Seo-Yeong Kim, South Korea (2018)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Yu Yiting (China) – 2:07.75 (ASIAN GAMES RECORD)
• SILVER: Ye Shiwen (China) – 2:10.34
• BRONZE: Seoyeong Kim (South Korea) – 2:10.36

Make it 4-for-4! China’s Yu Yiting was on fire tonight in the women’s 200 IM, roaring to victory in 2:07.75 and breaking the Asian Games Record in the process. It was an incredible swim for Yiting, marking not only a new personal best, but coming in just off the Asian Record of 2:07.57.

Funny thing about that Asian Record: it’s held by China’s Ye Shiwen from 2012. Shiwen just so happened to earn the silver medal tonight with a 2:10.34, beating out South Korea’s Seoyeong Kim in a photo-finish. Also of note, it was Kim who held the Asian Games Record (2:08.34) that Yiting broke tonight.

Shiwen hit the 150m turn behind Kim, however, as she’s done time and again in her career, she fired off a speedy 31.02 on the final 50, which out-split Kim’s 31.95 by nearly a second.

Notably, Yiting’s swim tonight would have been good for Silver at the World Championships this summer, where Yiting also happened to have earned the bronze medal (2:08.74).

MEN’S 4×200 FREESTYLE RELAY – FINAL

• World Record: 6:58.55 – United States (2009)
• Asian Record: 7:02.26 – Japan (2009)
• Asian Games Record: 7:05.17 – Japan (2018)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: South Korea – 7:01.73 (ASIAN RECORD)
• SILVER: China – 7:03.40
• BRONZE: Japan – 7:06.29

South Korea sent this session out with a bang, downing the Asian Record in the men’s 4×200 free relay. The South Korean squad of Jaehoon Yang, Hojoon Lee, Woomin Kim, and Sunwoo Hwang teamed up to clock a 7:01.73, shattering the Asian Games Record of 7:05.17, and dipping under the Asian Record of 7:02.26. Of note, the Asian Record was held by Japan from 2009, which means it was all but certainly a super-suited record.

Interestingly, this was the same quartet that set the South Korean Record in the event with a 7:04.07 at the World Championships a few months ago. The difference is, they flipped the order from what they used at Worlds, saving their two best swimmers in Hwang and Kim for the last two spots today.

That decision paid dividends in a big way, as Yang led the team off in a solid 1:46.83 tonight, then Lee clocked a speedy 1:45.36 on the 2nd leg. Lee’s leg moved South Korea into 1st over China, where they would stay for the remainder of the race. Kim was fantastic on the 3rd leg, splitting 1:44.50, which was the fastest split in the field tonight. Hwang then anchored in 1:45.04, sealing the deal for South Korea. Hwang was out like a bullet, splitting a stunning 48.93 on the first 100m of the race. He paid for that front half in a big way, however, coming home in a 56.13 on the final 100m. Nonetheless, it was enough for South Korea to win by a comfortable win over China.

Speaking of China, they earned the silver medal with a 7:03.40, marking a new Chinese Record in the event. They had a very consistent team, with Wang Shun leading off in 1:45.96, Niu Guangsheng splitting 1:46.68, Wang Haoyu splitting 1:45.99, and Pan Zhanle clocking a 1:44.77 on the anchor.

Japan grabbed the bronze medal tonight with a 7:06.29, touching nearly 12 seconds ahead of 4th-place Singapore. The Japanes team was fueled by 1:45.59 splits from both Tomoru Honda and Katsuhiro Matsumoto.