China Sets Second Asian Record of 2023 in Sizzling 400 Free Relay at Asian Games

Juner Chen of China competes in the 200m Butterfly Men Heats during the 20th World Aquatics Championships at the Marine Messe Hall A in Fukuoka (Japan), July 25th, 2023.

Chen Juner of China; Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

China Sets Second Asian Record of 2023 in Sizzling 400 Free Relay at Asian Games

Five years is an eternity for a relay record, supersuits notwithstanding. For the Asian record in the men’s 400 freestyle relay to have lasted that long in a single set of hands seems a historical outlier, even if a pandemic intervened to reduce the number of realistic chances to knock it off its pedestal.

The powers in Asian swimming, however, are making up for lost time in a hurry.

China on Thursday trounced the continental record in the men’s 400 freestyle relay for the second time this year in winning gold at the Asian Games. What had been Japan’s record, at 3:12.54 since the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships, is now nearly two seconds faster, having been routed twice.

The historical splits:

3:12.54 – Japan 2018: Katsumi Nakamura 48.52 – Shinri Shioura 48.19 – Katsuhiro Matsumoto 47.61 – Juran Mizohata 48.22
3:11.38 – China 2023 Worlds: Pan Zhanle 47.67 – Chen Juner 47.85 – Wang Changhao 48.89 – Wang Haoyu 46.97
3:10.88 – China 2023 Asian Games: Pan Zhanle 47.06 – Chen Juner 48.00 – Hong Jinquan 48.27 – Wang Haoyu 47.55

China isn’t alone. South Korea’s runner-up relay in Hangzhou also nearly undercut that old continental mark, earning silver in 3:12.96.

Neither of those relays even so much as qualified for the last Olympics. Asia’s only representative at the Tokyo Games was Japan, which finished 14th in 3:14.44.

Asian Games Meet Page

China, with Pan as the lone holdover, finished 10th at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest in 3:15.39.

And now? Not just an explosion of talent but more still left to achieve.

China’s Asian record didn’t net a medal at Worlds in Fukuoka. Pan started them second, but they faded to six before Wang’s unreal split pulled China to fourth, still a half-second behind the bronze-winning Americans.

Much of the half-second growth in Hangzhou is attributable to Pan, who we’ve seen has sub-47 in his repertoire. If he and Wang, still just 18, both fire 46s, then they’re gold contenders, especially if Hong is the answer for the fourth leg. Given that Hong is just 20, he might still get faster. Qin Haiyang already makes China a contender in the medley relay, and the 400 free doesn’t seem far behind.

Not to be lost in China’s excellence is South Korea turning itself into a medal contender. The epic battles that Pan and Hwang Sun-Woo have authored shouldn’t make this a surprise, but depth is on the Koreans’ side, even if the 800 free is the program’s stronger event.

South Korean got silver at the Asian Games, in the process erasing nearly two and a half seconds off a national record that is just 11 months old. The time of 3:12.96 would’ve finished seventh at Worlds in Fukuoka.

Hwang is the only holdover from the last national record for the South Koreans:

3:15.39 (2022): Cheon Ho-Hyun 49.81 – Yang Jae-Hoon 48.63 – Kim Woo-Min 49.12 – Hwang Sun-Woo 47.83
3:12.96 (2023): Ji Yu-Chan 48.90 – Lee Ho-Joon 47.79 – Kim Ji-Hun 48.66 – Hwang Sun-Woo 47.61

Lee’s emergence has been huge. Kim Woo-Min doesn’t appear to be an answer over 100 meters (his best flat-start time in international competition is a 53.52 from Worlds in 2023).

After spending most of the last two Olympic cycles as non-factors in the men’s relays as new European contenders have emerged, the center of relay power appears to be shifting East.

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