The Japan Times - Yu Zidi to Ohashi: Asian Games stars who can light up LA Olympics

AFP picks out five athletes who starred and look primed to make an impact at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

- Yu Zidi, swimming (China) -

The 13-year-old Chinese prodigy won all three of her individual events with ease, and all in Games-record times.

She triumphed in the women's 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley and 400m IM and her times were among the fastest in the world this year.

Yu will be 15 when the LA Olympics come round and is likely to be a major medal threat with the world watching.

Last year, aged 12, she won relay bronze to become the youngest medallist in swimming world championships history.

- Zhang Zhanshuo, swimming (China) -

With Yu grabbing the headlines, Zhang went slightly under the radar.

But the 19-year-old went home with seven gold medals, the most by any swimmer in Asian Games history.

He did it with panache, too, sitting on the lane divider and slowly counting off all seven on his fingers after bringing home the last one.

Zhang scorched to the men's 400m freestyle title in a Games-record time and also won individual titles in the 200m, 800m and 1,500m freestyle events, as well as three relays.

- Shin Ohashi, swimming (Japan) -

The 17-year-old said he wanted to set a world record at his home Games -- and he did just that.

Ohashi, who admits to loving junk food, clocked an astonishing 2min 04.83sec to slice more than half a second off the previous 200m breaststroke world record held by China's Qin Haiyang.

The record continued Ohashi's stunning rise and marked him out as the man to beat in Los Angeles, where he could face French superstar Leon Marchand.

- Yan Ziyi, athletics (China) -

The formidable Yan will only just have turned 20 when the LA Games roll around, but already the Chinese javelin thrower looks destined for the top.

She demolished the Asian Games opposition with her first and only throw of 70.46m, breaking the Games record. It was the sixth best throw of all time.

Yan hurled a colossal 71.74m in May, second only to the world record of 72.28m set by the Czech Republic's Barbora Spotakova in 2008.

- Ri Song Gum, weightlifting (North Korea) -

The tiny weightlifter gave North Korea an explosive start to the weightlifting campaign and next will be hunting the one honour missing from her career -- an Olympic medal.

The 140cm (4ft 7in) pocket powerhouse set three new world marks in the 49kg class as she entered the record book as the only woman to clinch three successive Asian Games weightlifting golds.

She is also a double world champion and has been untouchable in her weight division since North Korea emerged from Covid exile in 2023.

North Korea weightlifters have not taken part in the last two Olympics, so Los Angeles could be the 28-year-old's only shot at Olympic glory.

T.Shimizu--JT