Chinese swimmers Yan Zibei and Ye Shiwen Monday won a bronze medal in men's 100m breaststroke with a new Asian record and a silver medal in the women's 200m individual medley (IM) respectively at the 18th FINA World Championships in Gwangju.

23-year-old Yan clocked 58.63 seconds in the final, breaking the Asian record of 58.67 set by himself in the semifinals on Sunday.

"[Breaking Asian records twice in Gwangju] shows I swim more and more stably now. That is a very good thing for me. I want to go ahead steadily and solidly," said the bronze medalist.

The best result from a Chinese male swimmer in the event was a silver medal won by Zeng Qiliang at the 1998 World Championships in Perth, Australia.

"I am satisfied with the result and I want to thank my coaches. The biggest improvement compared with the last Worlds is my mental state. In the last Worlds, I was more nervous," said Yan.

Yan competed in Budapest two years ago, finishing seventh in the final in the men's 100m breaststroke.

His struggle was not enough to overcome Adam Peaty of Britain, who finished first in 57.14 seconds to claim gold. Peaty set a new world record at the semifinals with a time of 56.88 seconds.

James Wilby of Britain came away with silver at 58.46 seconds. 

In the women's 200m individual medley, China's Olympic champion Ye Shiwen claimed the runner-up with a time of 2:08.60.

Ye finished in two minutes and 8.60 seconds in the final to secure silver. The 23-year-old snatched two gold medals in the 200m and 400m IM events in the 2012 Olympic Games.

Katinka Hosszu of Hungary took the gold medal by 1.07 seconds, who has claimed the 200m IM world titles three times from 2013 to 2017.

Sydney Pickrem of Canada got bronze with a time of 2:08.70.

"I want to tell my coach 'thank you and I did it.' I want to hang my medal on the neck of my coach. He unconditionally supports me and takes care of me," said Ye.

"Thanks to the solid training, I am in a peaceful mood today and the result met my expectations," said the Chinese swimmer.