China accomplished a comeback within the remaining 50 meters to win the boys’s 4x200m freestyle relay gold in an Asian document of seven:00.17 on the 2026 Asian Games.
by sportswriters Zhang Can and Liu Yichun
TOKYO, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) — With the ultimate 50 meters approaching within the males’s 4x200m freestyle relay remaining on the 2026 Asian Games on Monday evening, China’s Zhang Zhanshuo was nonetheless chasing the opponent from host Japan.
Then he surged previous. China touched first in seven minutes 00.17 seconds, breaking the Asian document and finishing a shocking comeback for the gold medal.
Composed of Xu Haibo, Fei Liwei, Pan Zhanle and Zhang Zhanshuo, China returned to the highest of the Asian Games podium within the occasion for the primary time in 16 years, whereas reducing the Asian document beforehand set by China.
It was a victory constructed from behind. Japan’s Murasa Tatsuya made a powerful begin on the opening leg, leaving China’s 18-year-old Xu Haibo to resist the early strain. Xu clocked 1:46.27 and handed over 1.57 seconds behind Japan.
“We expected to fight South Korea, but Japan put two of their strongest swimmers on the first two legs, which was a surprise,” Pan, who shot to fame by profitable two gold medals on the 2024 Olympic Games, stated after the race. “After the first leg, we started ‘eating the waves.'”
Swimming behind Japan, China’s swimmers needed to deal with the turbulence created by the leaders. Fei Liwei struggled to keep up his rhythm, and the deficit grew to three.47 seconds after the second leg.
Then got here Pan. On the third leg, the boys’s 100m world document holder launched a relentless pursuit. By the primary flip, he had already draw again greater than half a second. He finally accomplished his leg in 1:44.24, chopping the deficit to 1.89 seconds.
China was nonetheless behind. But the race had modified.
Zhang dived in for the ultimate leg, with the water churning round him and Japan nonetheless in entrance. After 100 meters, Zhang had lowered the hole to roughly half a physique size. At the ultimate flip, he continued to shut in, inch by inch, till the 2 swimmers have been virtually stage.
“Seeing him swimming through the waves and pushing so hard, I was thinking, ‘He’s so tired,'” Pan recalled.
In the ultimate stretch, Zhang pulled stage after which surged forward.
The cheers erupted across the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. In the press tribune, Chinese reporters who had been watching the race from their seats rose virtually concurrently, shouting and cheering. The stress that had constructed over the earlier seven minutes exploded into celebration.
Even amid the thrill across the pool, the cry of “Zhang Zhanshuo! Zhang Zhanshuo!” rang out.
Zhang stopped the clock at 1:42.92, ending his leg 2.77 seconds sooner than his Japanese counterpart and finishing the comeback.
For Xu, watching the ultimate leg was virtually insufferable. “Seeing Zhang Zhanshuo gradually catch up, my heart was almost jumping out of my chest,” he stated. “I was so excited that I shouted my throat out.”
After the race, the 18-year-old might barely comprise his pleasure. “Having these three amazing teammates is just great,” Xu stated, calling Zhang “Shuoshen” – which interprets as “God Zhang” – in an affectionate nickname.
Zhang, nevertheless, was not fast to just accept the reward. “I had confidence that I could make the comeback. I have three very strong teammates,” he stated, trying towards Pan, “including a world-record holder. Why should I be afraid of the opponents?”
Pan, for his half, stated the relay had helped him rediscover among the kind he confirmed on the nationwide championships, whereas acknowledging that he nonetheless had room to enhance.
For Fei, the Asian document belonged to not one swimmer, however to the entire workforce. “The result could not have been achieved without the support of the whole team and the national team,” Fei stated. “It is a great honor to race this relay with these three excellent teammates. Breaking the Asian record is an honor for every one of us.”
Zhang’s 1:42.92 break up was probably the most eye-catching performances of the evening, however the younger anchor was fast to look past his personal time.
“The world record is right there,” he stated. “Someone has made 1:42.0 in an individual race, while I did 1:42.9 in a relay. I still need to calm down, face the gap and keep learning from the world record.”
The 20-year-old is competing in seven occasions at these Games, making vitality administration a serious problem.
But after a comeback that demanded every little thing he had, Zhang didn’t discuss fatigue, and he supplied a easy evaluation of the evening.
“This is a very good start,” he stated. “My Asian Games have just begun.”