Japan closed out the first night of swimming with three straight gold medals with the women taking the 4×100 free relay Games Record in the process. The team of Rikako Ikee (53.60), Natsumi Sakai (54.81), Tomomi Aoki (54.21) and Chihiro Igarashi (53.90) swam a 3:36.52 for a new Games Record, breaking the 3:36.88 set by China from 2010.
China finished second in the final here with a 3:36.78. They had a pretty young team with a 15-year-old and 16-year-old on their relay. Zhu Menghui (54.00), Wu Yue (54.67), Wu Qingfeng (54.43) and Yang Junxuan (53.68) swam for the Chinese to get the silver medal. Both teams placed sixth and seventh in the Virtual World Championships after all the major meets this summer.
Hong Kong finished with the bronze medal at 3:41.88 with Camille Cheng (54.98), Stephanie Au (55.60), Hoi Tam (56.05) and Hang Yu Sze (55.25) swimming for them. It is their first swimming medal of the Games thus far.
This is the first time Japan has dethroned China in this relay at the Asian Games since 1994 and it is Japan’s tenth gold medal in the relay at the Games. The 2018 team joined the relays from (1954-1982 and 1994) as gold medalists.
- Japan, 3:36.52 (Ikee, Sakai, Aoki, Igarashi)
- China, 3:36.78 (Zhu, Wu, Wu, Yang)
- Hong Kong, 3:41.88 (Cheng, Au, Tam, Sze)
- Singapore, 3:44.21 (Chan, Gan, Ho, Chue)
- Thailand, 3:45.93 (Sathianchokwisan, Sapianchai, Srisa Ard, Junkrajang)
- Korea, 3:48.76 (Ko, Kim, Choi, Park)
- Indonesia, 3:51.32 (Krisdewanti, Dewi, Dewi, Hapsari)
- Macau, 3:57.65 (Tang, Vong, Lei, Long)
2018 Virtual World Championships
- Australia, 3:30.05, Commonwealth Games
- United States, 3:33.45, Pan Pacs
- Canada, 3:33.92, Commonwealth Games
- France, 3:34.65, Europeans
- Netherlands, 3:34.77, Europeans
- Japan, 3:36.52, Asian Games
- China, 3:36.78, Asian Games
- Great Britain, 3:37.26, Europeans
