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Mike Chan

The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games may only be halfway through, but the swimmers checked out of the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on Friday.
An extended rest was probably too much of a luxury for most of them with the Swimming World Cup just around the corner.
A trio of three-day meets in Baku, Tashkent and Astana from the start of next month will also act as qualifiers for the short course World Aquatics Swimming Championships, which run in Beijing from December 1 to 6.
Four swimmers, two each from Japan and China, swept the MVP accolades from the past three editions of the Asian Games in Incheon, Jakarta and Hangzhou, and it would be a major surprise if this trend were not to continue.
China’s Zhang Zhanshuo and Li Bingjie – who won 12 gold medals between them in Tokyo – are the obvious favourites to take the awards this time.

It is therefore an opportune moment to take a look at the Chinese contingent and get an idea of who is expected to head to Los Angeles in two years and to flourish there.
While the world has already seen what Yu Yiting and, in particular, Yu Zidi are capable of, onlookers and rivals should prepare themselves for a completely different Zhang.
Having put behind him a disappointing Olympic debut in Paris, where he failed to progress from the heats of all three individual events, teenager Zhang Zhanshuo appears to have reached a new level.
Last November, he won five gold medals at the National Games, and he followed that up this week with a record-breaking haul at the regional Games.
Having entered eight events and swum 4,000 metres over six days in the Japanese capital, Zhang walked away with seven gold medals, breaking the previous record of six at one edition jointly held by compatriot Zhang Yufei in 2023 and Rikako Ikee of Japan in 2018.
Zhang’s ability to dominate distances from 200m to 1,500m has made him a new swimming icon, and he has also been a reliable teammate in the relays. Possessing a blend of explosive power and endurance, as well as speed and stability, the Shandong native has completely shattered the public’s preconceived notions about freestyle swimmers.
The only title he missed out on was the 100m freestyle, a non-speciality event for him. Nevertheless, he achieved a personal best time of 48.23 seconds, finishing fourth behind compatriot Pan Zhanle and South Korean pair Kim Young-beom and Hwang Sun-woo.
A particular highlight of the past week was the men’s 4x200m freestyle final, in which Pan and Zhang overcame a 3.47-second deficit in the final two legs to overtake Japan and set an Asian record of seven minutes and 0.17 seconds. Team China had trailed by 1.89 seconds when Zhang took the final leg, but won by almost a second in the end.
Perhaps two-time Olympic champion Pan summed it up best when he said: “I found his abilities to be exceptional – powerful to a level that is truly beyond the ordinary. He told us before the race that we didn’t need to worry because he knows how to handle his own business.

“He really is the wonder kid; there’s always a miracle in his final leg. Zhang is an individual event champion with the longest arm reach. It’s a combination of all favourable circumstances that placed him in the final position.”
While the presence of Pan and Zhang has undoubtedly made China competitive in freestyle, the women’s squad seem to flourish in every swim style.
Li Bingjie remains the undisputed queen of the long-distance freestyle events in the region, while also showing her value as a teammate in the shorter relays. The 24-year-old from Hebei won all five events she entered in Tokyo, including dominating the 400m, 800m and 1,500m events in back-to-back Asian Games.
Then there were Wu Qingfeng and Tang Qianting, with the latter claiming gold in both the 50m and 100m breaststroke in game-record times. Wan Letian, 22, and Peng Xuwei, 23, also helped China win all three backstroke gold medals.
The influx of young Chinese swimmers has naturally reduced the workload of a couple of the country’s most decorated swimmers.
Hangzhou Games MVPs Zhang Yufei and Qin Haiyang, who won a combined total of 11 gold and one silver medal in 2023, halved the number of individual events they competed in compared with three years ago, with each swimmer competing in only two events, plus relays.
Zhang, 28, delivered in the women’s 4x100m freestyle and medley relays, as well as the mixed 4x100m medley relay, while adding a 50m butterfly gold on the final day to go with a silver in the 100m butterfly, when she finished just 0.03 seconds behind her teammate Yu Yiting, who is seven years her junior.

Qin, 27, had a similar mixed experience of team success and personal setback until he touched the wall first in the 50m breaststroke final in 26.68 seconds on the last day of the swimming competition.
Nevertheless, Zhang Yufei and Qin are still expected to be the two leading figures in the Chinese swimming team when they head to Los Angeles in the summer of 2028.
However, it is possible that, at 30 and 29 years old, respectively, they will focus less on individual events and more on the relays, just as Zhang did when she chose not to defend her 200m butterfly medal, which was won by Yu Zidi in a Games record on the first day.
“I hope that, after switching to a new training regimen, I can achieve a time at the Asian Games that I’m satisfied with – one that makes me feel I’ve still got what it takes,” Zhang said before departing for the Asian Games.


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Improved Zhang Zhanshuo, rising Yu Zidi headline China’s swimming hopes for 2028 Olympics

Zhang Zhanshuo poses with his record haul of gold medals after the 400m freestyle final on Friday. Photo: Xinhua

China’s Li Bingjie won her fifth gold medal in the 800m freestyle on Friday. Photo: Xinhua

Pan Zhanle (right) congratulates Zhang Zhanshuo after his final-leg swim in the 4x200m freestyle relay final, with Xu Haibo and Fei Liwei in the background. Photo: Xinhua

Zhang Yufei lessened her workload from the last Asian Games but came away with four gold medals. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese teen swim sensation Yu Zidi set for Olympic stardom after golden Asian Games

China’s Zidi Yu celebrates on the podium after winning the 400m individual medley final in Tokyo on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Yu Zidi is likely to be a major medal threat at the LA Olympics. Photo: AFP

Gold medallist Yu Zidi (right) with runner-up Ke Wenxi after the 400m individual medley final. Photo: AFP

Yu Yiting overcomes form dip, and the rise of Yu Zidi, to defend her Asian Games title

Yu Yiting (right) after beating Yu Zidi (left) in the 200m individual medley final at the China National Swimming Championships in June. Photo: Handout

Yu Yiting came from behind to win the Asian Games 100m butterfly on Wednesday. Photo: Robert Ng

Yu Zidi (right) won the 200m IM final in Asian-record time on Monday with Yu Yiting second. Photo: Reuters

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Five-gold winner Li Bingjie also strong contender as influx of young swimmers cuts workload for decorated swimmers Zhang Yufei, Qin Haiyang


Five-gold winner Li Bingjie also strong contender as influx of young swimmers cuts workload for decorated swimmers Zhang Yufei, Qin Haiyang.


Swimming

Pan Zhanle

Qin Haiyang

Zhang Yufei

Improved Zhang Zhanshuo, rising Yu Zidi headline China’s swimming hopes for 2028 Olympics

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Five-gold winner Li Bingjie also strong contender as influx of young swimmers cuts workload for decorated swimmers Zhang Yufei, Qin Haiyang

Five-gold winner Li Bingjie also strong contender as influx of young swimmers cuts workload for decorated swimmers Zhang Yufei, Qin Haiyang