2026 Asian Games Swimming: Day 6 Prelims Live Recap
- The final day of pool swimming competition at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi–Nagoya brought decisive preliminary heats on September 25, 2026, at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, setting...
- China’s sprint fly specialist Zhang Yufei secured the top seed for the women’s 50-meter butterfly final by clocking a 25.57 in the preliminary heats, finishing nearly half a...
- Asian record holder Qin Haiyang of China topped the men’s 50-meter breaststroke prelims in 26.87, leading a competitive field into the evening finals.
The final day of pool swimming competition at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi–Nagoya brought decisive preliminary heats on September 25, 2026, at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, setting up championship showdowns across multiple events. Athletes from across Asia contested morning heats in the women’s 50-meter butterfly, men’s 50-meter breaststroke, women’s 800-meter freestyle slower heat, men’s 200-meter backstroke, men’s 400-meter freestyle, men’s 200-meter butterfly, and the women’s 4×100-meter medley relay, according to event schedules outlined by SwimSwam and the official Aichi–Nagoya 2026 results portal.
Women’s 50-Meter Butterfly Prelims
China’s sprint fly specialist Zhang Yufei secured the top seed for the women’s 50-meter butterfly final by clocking a 25.57 in the preliminary heats, finishing nearly half a second ahead of the rest of the field according to SwimSwam’s live recap. Zhang enters the final seeking to defend her 2023 title in the event, holding the Asian record at 25.05 and the games record at 25.10. Japan’s Rikako Ikee touched second in 25.98 as the only other swimmer to break the 26-second barrier in the morning session. Zhang’s teammate Wu Qingfeng captured the third overall seed with a time of 26.00. Cheuk Tung Natalie Kan of Hong Kong advanced with a 26.28, while Kazakhstan’s Sofia Spodarenko posted a 26.42. Singapore’s Chiok Sze Yeo and South Korea’s Se Hyeon An tied for the next qualifying position with matching marks of 26.44. Japan’s Chiho Mizuguchi advanced in 26.81, and a further tie materialized for ninth place as South Korea’s Songeun Lee and Chinese Taipei’s An-chi Han both touched in 27.13 to secure their places in the final.
Men’s 50-Meter Breaststroke Prelims
Asian record holder Qin Haiyang of China topped the men’s 50-meter breaststroke prelims in 26.87, leading a competitive field into the evening finals. Qin holds the entry standard as the pre-meet top seed, alongside a games record of 26.25 and an Asian record of 26.20. Japan’s Shin Ohashi finished 13 hundredths behind Qin to claim the second seed in 27.00, following his performance in the 200-meter breaststroke events earlier in the meet. Liu Junjie of China rounded out the top three qualifiers by nearly dipping under the 27-second threshold with a time of 27.08. Additional qualifiers for the final included Iran’s Amir Motaee in 27.28, Denis Petrashov of Kyrgyzstan in 27.45, and South Korea’s Dongyeol Choi in 27.58. Hong Kong’s Sai Ting Adam Mak recorded a 27.71, Vietnam’s Thanh Bao Pham swam a 27.72, Marrich Somrdhivej of Thailand touched in 27.73, and Yik Ki Tsui of Hong Kong completed the top tier in 27.86.
Women’s 800-Meter Freestyle Slower Heat and Backstroke Prelims
The slower heat of the women’s 800-meter freestyle featured a four-swimmer race won by En Xi Sarah Sim of Singapore in 9:13.62, finishing nearly 14 seconds ahead of Bahrain’s Sana Ledalher, who clocked a 9:27.33. Altannar Amgalan and Misheel Shinebayar, both representing Mongolia, completed the heat with times of 10:23.84 and 11:44.93, respectively. The race set the stage for the faster seeded heat scheduled for the evening finals session. In the men’s 200-meter backstroke prelims, Japanese ace Hidekazu Takehara led all competitors by posting a morning mark of 1:58.15. South Korea’s Juho Lee followed in second with a 1:58.90, while China’s Song Borui secured the third qualifying position in 1:59.59. India’s Rishabh Das advanced with a 2:00.53, and Kodai Nishiono of Japan also moved through to the evening program. Competition at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre concludes with the remaining finals across all disciplines.