Zhang Yufei, Zhang Zhanshuo shine as Asian records tumble in Beijing

Four Asian records fell at China's 2026 National Swimming Championships (25m) in Beijing on Tuesday, with Zhang Yufei, Zhang Zhanshuo and Xu Jiayu delivering standout performances in the short-course pool.

Zhang Yufei captured the women's 100m butterfly title in 54.87 seconds, beating the previous Asian record of 55.17 set by Yu Yiting earlier this month. The victory gave the Jiangsu swimmer her fourth individual gold medal of the championships.

In the men's 800m freestyle, Shandong's Zhang Zhanshuo took gold in 7 minutes, 28.61 seconds, 4.15 seconds quicker than the previous Asian mark of 7:32.76. It was his third individual title of the competition.

Xu Jiayu added another record in the men's 100m backstroke while leading Zhejiang's mixed 4×100m medley relay team. His opening split of 48.54 seconds improved his own Asian record set just three days earlier.

Zhejiang went on to win the relay in an Asian-record time of 3:36.00. Xu joined Xie Yichen, Lu Yue and Liu Yaxin to secure the title ahead of Jiangsu, which finished second in 3:38.79, and Shandong, which took bronze in 3:38.87.

Elsewhere, Xu Fang won the men's 100m butterfly in 49.47 seconds, rising 14-year-old star Yu Zidi secured the women's 400m individual medley title in 4:27.34, and He Yubo won the men's 400m individual medley in 4:04.81.

All four Asian records were established in the 25m pool at the National Aquatics Center, with Xu Jiayu's backstroke performance and Zhejiang's relay victory accounting for two separate records in the same race.