Asian Report – Day 3 – Three New National Records Established

Records fall at all points in the meet; from big final swims like Katie Ledecky (1500m FR), non-pressure semi finals like Ruta Meilutyte (100m BR) and sometimes even in the preliminary heats. They are set by names that have been around for awhile, and rookies, from dominant swimming countries, to some sending their first swimmer to an international competition.

While day 3 overall was a bit sluggish for the swimmers out of Asia, three new national records were set here in day 3 in Barcelona. Including:

Chinese Record – Gu Biarong, Men’s 50 Breaststroke, 27:38  (Prelims)
Philippine Record – Joshua Hall, Men’s 50 Breaststroke, 28.48 (Prelims)
Singaporean Record – Joseph Schooling, Men’s 200 Butterfly, 1:56.27 (Semi-finals)

China and Japan are the powerhouses of Asian swimming. It seems like these two countries are falling a bit flat; they aren’t really showing up when it is time to race, especially when it counts in the finals. Here are some quick notes from the night from these two countries.

JAPAN

• Kosuke Hagino finished 5^th in the 200m freestyle final at 1:45.94. Second fastest last 50 in the field to USA’s Conor Dwyer.
• Aya Terakawa finished with a bronze medal, to back up her bronze medal from London, in a time of 59.23.
• Ryosuke Irie and Kosuke Hagino were without a medal in the men’s 100 backstroke, finished 4^th (53.29) and 7^th  (53.93). They were both 7^th and 8^th at the turn, but had the 1^st and 2^nd fastest second 50 on the field.
• No finalists in the 200 butterfly, with Yuki Kobori finishing 9^th. He had the fifth fastest time in the world heading into London, at 1:55.51 but the best he had tonight was 1:56.15.

CHINA

• Yuanhui Fu gave herself a shot being out second at the 50 but finished 5^th in the field in the women’s 100 backstroke, 59.61.
• Danlu Zu finished 5^th in the 1500m freestyle, at 16:00.44, a five second drop from prelims.
• Two swimmers to reach the final in the 200 butterfly in Peng Wu, 2^nd, and Yin Chen, 4^th (1:55.42 & 1:55.97).
• Sun Yang is back in the pool tomorrow night to take on another distance freestyle event, the 800m freestyle, after his win in the 400 freestyle night one.