TOKYO: Chinese teenager Zhang Zhanshuo won a record seventh swimming gold at the Asian Games on Friday (Sep 25) and said it had been the “perfect conclusion” to his week in Tokyo.
The 19-year-old wrapped up a scintillating campaign with victory in the 400m freestyle in a Games-record 3min 41.28sec.
No swimmer had previously won seven golds in one Games.
Japan’s Rikako Ikee won six in Jakarta in 2018 before China’s Zhang Yufei matched her achievement in Hangzhou five years later.
Zhang Zhanshuo went one better and said he was “calmer than I imagined I would be”.
“The moment I touched the wall was probably the most exciting,” said the towering teenager, who stands 198cm.
“It was also my final race of the competition. Today feels like a perfect conclusion.”
Zhang also won individual golds in the 200m, 800m and 1,500m freestyle events, as well as three relays.
He was far too hot for the 400m freestyle field to handle, coming home 4.27sec ahead of Japan’s silver-medallist Kazushi Imafuku.
He sat on the line divider after the race and slowly counted off all seven medals he had won on his fingers.
Zhang now has the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and world records in his sights.
“I think the most important thing is to stay grounded and focused, because the Asian Games are not my ultimate goal,” he said.
“I need to face my shortcomings honestly and recognise the gap between myself and the world’s best athletes.”
It was another successful night in the pool for China, who won five of the day’s seven finals.
They topped the overall swimming medal table with 30 golds. Japan were a distant second with seven.
Li Bingjie won her fifth gold of the Games, in the women’s 800m freestyle, while Zhang Yufei picked up her fourth in the 50m butterfly.
