Chinese swimming prodigy Zhang Jianzhu, 19, has etched his name in the history of the Asian Games by breaking a record that stood for 16 years. He achieved this feat by winning gold in all seven events he entered, becoming the first swimmer in Asian Games history to claim seven gold medals in a single competition.
Zhang secured his latest victory on September 25 at the Tokyo Aquatics Center during the men's 400-meter freestyle final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, finishing with a time of 3 minutes, 41.28 seconds.
This new record surpasses the previous mark of 3 minutes, 41.53 seconds set by South Korea's Park Tae-hwan at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games by 0.25 seconds.
The race was dominated by Zhang, who outpaced Japan's Kazushi Imafuku, who won silver with a time of 3 minutes, 45.55 seconds, by a margin of 4.27 seconds. China's Fei Liwei took home the bronze with a time of 3 minutes, 45.78 seconds. South Korea's Lee Ho-jun was the only other finalist, finishing ninth with a time of 3 minutes, 51.18 seconds.
With this victory in the 400-meter freestyle, Zhang has now won seven gold medals at this event, never missing a chance to secure a gold in any of his events.
In individual events, he swept the 200-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter, and 1500-meter freestyle races. Additionally, he contributed to the Chinese team's gold medals in the men's 400-meter and 800-meter relays, as well as the mixed 400-meter medley relay, adding three more golds to his tally.
Zhang is the first swimmer in Asian Games history to win seven gold medals in a single competition. Previously, Japan's Rikako Ikee and China's Zhang Yufei held the record for the most golds in a single event, each with six medals from the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang and 2022 Hangzhou Games, respectively.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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