China’s Zhang sweeps 7 golds in Asian Games

NAGOYA, Japan — Chinese freestyler Zhang Zhanshuo completed his sweep of seven gold medals at the Asian Games, taking the 400-meter freestyle in 3 minutes, 41.28 seconds on the final day of swimming events. His time was just 1.30 seconds off the world record held by Lukas Martens of Germany (3:39.98). Zhang also won the 1,500, 800 and 200 free and added gold in three relays. He celebrated at poolside by sitting on the lane divider and counting the golds with his fingers. The Chinese won a record 30 gold medals — and 54 overall — during the six days of swimming at these Asian Games and surpassed the 28 gold medals they won three years ago in Hangzhou. Japan was right there in many races, winning seven gold and 37 medals overall — also better than their totals three years ago. Japan’s 17-year-old Shin Ohashi set the only world record of the games, taking the 200-meter breaststroke on Thursday in 2:04.83. Ohashi obliterated the old mark of 2:05.48 set by China’s Qin Haiyang in 2023 at the world championships in Fukuoka, Japan. China’s 13-year-old Yu Zidi was the most talked about swimmer heading into the Asian Games. She did not disappoint, winning the 200 butterfly, and...