Reuters
Source: reuters
At an Asian Games pool entranced by China’s 13-year-old Yu Zidi, hosts Japan hailed their own teen prodigy on Tuesday as Yumeki Kojima powered to medley gold in a swim that made French great Leon Marchand sit up and take notice.
The 17-year-old Kojima’s triumph in the men’s 400 metres individual medley set a Games record of four minutes 7.02 seconds at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, topping the 12-year-old mark of Kosuke Hagino, one of Japan’s favourite swimming sons.
World record holder Marchand was at the pool giving a swimming clinic for local children but Kojima hopes one day to school the four-times Olympic champion.
“Marchand is the athlete I’m aiming for the most. I want to close the gap on him little by little and, one day, be able to beat him,” said Kojima, who also rewrote his world junior record.
Highlighted by schoolgirl Yu’s two individual golds, China have dominated the pool at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, and they continued in that vein on day three of full competition.
