Ohashi shatters 200m breaststroke world record days after Covid fever
Japan's 17-year-old Shin Ohashi won Asian Games gold in a world record time, saying illness before the race left him better rested rather than weakened.
Shin Ohashi broke the men's 200m breaststroke world record at the Asian Games in Tokyo on Thursday, touching in 2min 4.83sec to claim his second gold medal of the Games.
The result arrived only days after the 17-year-old had been laid low by Covid, running a temperature of around 39C in the build-up to the competition, according to Agence France-Presse.
Rather than describing the illness as a setback, Ohashi credited it with helping his performance, saying the enforced break from full training allowed him to arrive at the pool fresher than expected.
He said the Covid infection "was a good thing", framing the disruption as unexpected rest rather than a hindrance heading into the biggest swim of his career so far.
That such a comment comes from a teenager who set a world record within days of running a high fever underlines how unpredictable elite sport can be in the short window before a major final.
The win in Tokyo took Ohashi's tally to two gold medals at these Asian Games, adding the 200m breaststroke world record to his collection at a meet still under way.
For a swimmer only 17 years old, breaking a world record at a continental championship of this scale marks a significant marker in what is already shaping up as a fast-rising career.
Further events remain on the Asian Games swimming programme, and attention will now turn to whether Ohashi can add to his medal count before the competition in Tokyo concludes.