China’s Para swimming sensation Yuyan Jiang underlined her dominance in the pool, setting a new world record in the women’s 50m butterfly S6 at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games on Tuesday.
The seven-time Paris 2024 Paralympic gold medallist nicknamed as the “Flying Fish, clocked an impressive 34.52 seconds to claim gold, setting a new world record and Asian Para Games record.
Jiang led a Chinese sweep of the podium, with compatriot Daomin Liu taking silver in 37.39 seconds, while Dong Lu completed the podium with bronze and also a Games record (S5) in 41.58 seconds.
Jiang later returned to the pool to claim another gold medal in the women’s 100m freestyle S6, clocking 1:12.18 to finish ahead of compatriots Lingling Song (1:17.92) and Ji Zhu (1:18.92), who took silver and bronze, respectively.
The world record was the highlight of a series of record-breaking performances in the pool, with athletes from China, Kazakhstan, Indonesia and hosts Japan rewriting Asian and Games marks.
Asian records tumble
Kazakhstan’s Dias Kenzhebek delivered one of the standout performances in the men’s 100m backstroke S10, setting a new Asian record and Games record of 1:01.98. The Kazakh finished ahead of local swimmers Akito Minai (1:05.13) and Yumeto Ido (1:07.64).
Indonesia’s Yavianda Maulana Rifky also enjoyed a memorable outing, clocking 1:03.07 in the men’s 100m backstroke S12 to establish new Asian and Games records.
China’s Chuanzhen Sun continued the record-breaking run in the men’s 400m freestyle S11, touching the wall in 4:25.59 to set both Asian and Games records.
Compatriot Yilong Zhang also made his mark in the men’s 200m individual medley SM7, setting new Asian and Games records with a time of 2:37.69.
China dominate the record books
China’s Para swimmers continued to impress across several events, with four-time Paralympic champion Jincheng Guo and compatriot Lichao Wang both recording 31.33 seconds in the men’s 50m butterfly S5, equalling the Asian Para Games record.
Zhili Xie added another Games record in the men’s 50m freestyle S9, clocking 25.57 seconds.
In the women’s events, Jialing Xu set an Games record of 29.84 seconds en rote winning the 50m freestyle S9, while Liting Ke recorded 1:15.53 in the 100m freestyle S7.
Dong Lu also entered the record books in the women’s 50m butterfly S5 with a time of 41.58 seconds, adding another Games record to China’s tally.
It was a clean sweep for China in men’s 100m freestyle S6, with Qian Tang taking the gold clocking 1:08.89, while compatriot Jinbiao Luo (1:09.20) and Hong Yang (1:09.53) took the silver and bronze, respectively after a tight race.
Japan celebrate home success
Hosts Japan also had reason to celebrate, with Akito Minai winning the men’s 200m individual medley SM10 with a Games record of 2:18.11.
Ayano Tsujiuchi added another record for the home nation in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB12, clocking 1:25.69 to take the gold and establish a new Games mark.
Japan’s gold-medal haul continued with Takayuki Suzuki winning the men’s 50m breaststroke SB2 in 49.72 seconds, while Genki Saito claimed the men’s 100m breaststroke SB13 title with a time of 1:12.74. After two days of competition, China led the medals table with 149 medals including 70 gold and 28 of them were won in the Rainbow pool.
