Asian Games Preview: South Korea, China Could Threaten Seven-Minute Barrier in 800 Freestyle Relay
Great Britain has accomplished the feat on four occasions. So has the United States. Otherwise, only Russia has broken the seven-minute barrier in the 800-meter freestyle relay, doing so once. At the upcoming Asian Games, is it possible that South Korea or China will join the club? The potential exists, and a fourth member of the six-something fraternity would enhance the event’s intrigue in the buildup to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The path to sub-7:00 in the 800 freestyle relay is not easily navigated. A country not only needs extreme depth in the 200 freestyle, a go-to hammer is almost a prerequisite to mask any gameday shortcomings. After all, getting a quartet of athletes to simultaneously fire in peak form is a difficult task. That challenge alone amplifies the past-decade success of Great Britain in the event.
En route to a pair of Olympic titles and four World Championships crowns since 2015, Great Britain has been the definition of consistency, James Guy the squad’s linchpin, with Duncan Scott and Matt Richards joining him on all four relays that cracked seven minutes. On three of those teams, Tom Dean flashed the brilliance that made him an individual Olympic champion. Clearly, talent and timing must be coordinated, and those characteristics could play in South Korea’s favor this month in Tokyo.
At the last edition of the Asian Games, in 2023, Korea earned the gold medal in the 800 freestyle relay with a triumph over China. An Asian record of 7:01.73 made the victory even sweeter, although the standard has since been lowered by China to 7:00.91. In that Korean triumph, Yang Jae-hoon led off in 1:46.83, with Lee Ho-joon following in 1:45.56. The fastest splits arrived during the back half of the race, where Kim Woo-min went 1:44.50 and Hwang Sun-woo clocked 1:45.04.
Heading into the Asian Games, and based on career-best marks, there is room for improvement from Korea. While Hwang’s 1:45-flat was strong on the anchor leg of Korea’s national record, he owns a best time of 1:43.92, making him one of only nine swimmers in history to go under 1:44. More, Yang’s 1:46-high was a weak link, and the option to go with sprinter Kim Young-beom exists. Kim has a 200 freestyle best of 1:45.72, a significant improvement compared to the country’s 2023 performance.
On a good day, South Korea certainly has the ingredients to break seven minutes, but visiting that realm might not even be enough for the title. At last year’s World Championships in Singapore, China won the silver medal with its Asian mark of 7:00.91, the difference-making legs supplied by Pan Zhanle (1:44.41) and Zhang Zhanshuo (1:44.20). Also contributing were Ji Xinjie (1:46.22) and Wang Shun (1:46.08).
At the Asian Games, Xu Haibo is expected to be part of China’s 800 freestyle relay, thanks to the 1:45.83 he delivered in June. An 18-year-old, Xu has considerable upside and could record a split that helps threaten 7:00. As for Zhang, he is a rising power in the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle, and a split in the 1:43 range would not be a surprise.
Nothing is a given at the Asian Games. Who will be in top form? Who might break out? Will all relay members click at the same time? We don’t know the answers to those questions. But what we do know is Korea and China have the talent to challenge a barrier that isn’t easy to breach.
