Two More Records Fall as China Strikes Again on Day 2 Prelims
Newsroom
July 18, 2026

Two More Records Fall as China Strikes Again on Day 2 Prelims

Ruoxi Yang and Qianhe Hu broke meet records in the backstroke and breaststroke this morning, while Singapore's Dylan Jian Hong Lee won his heat outright and both nations posted a wave of top-8 qualifying swims across freestyle, fly, back and breast.

Two more meet records fell on Day 2's prelim session in Bangkok — both to China, both in the 15-16 age group. Singapore's Dylan Jian Hong Lee won his heat outright in the 200m Free, and both Malaysia and Singapore posted a strong wave of top-8 qualifying swims across the morning's freestyle, fly, back and breaststroke events.

Day 2 Prelims, 12th AAGC 2026
China's boys wait for their female teammates to exit the pool after their 4x100m Freestyle Relay event
574
Individual swims
8
Events contested
2
Meet records broken

China Breaks Two More Records

🇨🇳 Ruoxi Yang lowered the Girls 100m Backstroke mark (15-17 tier) to 1:01.03, well inside Japan's Akase Sayaka's 2009 record of 1:02.12. Later in the morning, 🇨🇳 Qianhe Hu took the Girls 200m Breaststroke record (15-17 tier) down to 2:27.78, beating the mark of 2:28.99 set by Japan's Mio Motegi in 2011. Both swimmers are 15 years old, racing in the Group B age tier.

Ruoxi Yang
Ruoxi Yang, CHN
Qianhe Hu
Qianhe Hu, CHN
  • 🇨🇳Ruoxi YangGirls 100 Back, 15-16
    1:01.03
  • 🇨🇳Qianhe HuGirls 200 Breast, 15-16
    2:27.78

Japan & Hong Kong Also Impress

🇯🇵 Japan continued its sweep of the youngest age group from Day 1, taking five group wins across the morning. Kouki Fujiwara won the Boys 50m Fly (Group C) in 25.48 after also placing third in the 200m Free, while Yua Kano and Rina Yamamuro topped their respective Girls 200m Free and 50m Fly groups, and Taishi Yasui and Rinka Ide won the Boys and Girls 100m Backstroke (Group C).

🇭🇰 Hong Kong showed depth across the older age groups — Kevin Chen won the Boys 200m Breaststroke (Group B) and Sze Ki Safira Leung won the Girls 200m Breaststroke (Group A), with third-place finishes from Adam Onyu Li and Sum Yiu Li in the 50m Fly, Yi Man Sum in the 200m Free, Cheuk Yiu Li and Pui Yan Ho in the 100m Backstroke, and Yulun Wu in the 200m Breaststroke.

Malaysia & Singapore Push Into Finals

Jaedon Rei Junrui Teo
Jaedon Rei Junrui Teo, SGP
Julian Ko
Julian Ko, SGP

The standout swim of the morning for either nation came from Singapore's Dylan Jian Hong Lee, who won his heat outright in the Boys 200m Free (Group C) in 1:58.76 — the fastest time in the age group. He backed it up with a top-4 finish in the 50m Fly a short time later. Teammates Jaedon Rei Junrui Teo and Rui Jie Marcus Chong went 2nd and 3rd in the Boys 200m Breaststroke (Group C), while Julian Ko and Ka Wai Low each touched third in their own groups in the 200m Breast and 200m Free respectively.

Rui Jie Marcus Chong
Rui Jie Marcus Chong, SGP

Malaysia's morning was led by Shyann Koo, third in the Boys 50m Fly (Group C), with Nishan Manuel, Cheng Feng Loo, Nadia Lim, Vivian Xin Ling Tee and Jin Bin Leow all qualifying inside the top 8 of their respective groups.

Shyann Koo
Shyann Koo, MAS
Nadia Lim
Nadia Lim, MAS
Jin Bin Leow
Jin Bin Leow, MAS
  • Dylan Jian Hong LeeSGP · Boys 200 Free, Group C
    1st — 1:58.76
  • Jaedon Rei Junrui TeoSGP · Boys 200 Breast, Group C
    2nd — 2:27.91
  • Rui Jie Marcus ChongSGP · Boys 200 Breast, Group C
    3rd — 2:27.35
  • Julian KoSGP · Boys 200 Breast, Group B
    3rd — 2:20.96
  • Ka Wai LowSGP · Boys 200 Free, Group B
    3rd — 1:55.45
  • Shyann KooMAS · Boys 50 Fly, Group C
    3rd — 27.23
  • Nishan ManuelMAS · Boys 50 Fly, Group B
    4th — 25.32
  • Cheng Feng LooMAS · Boys 200 Free, Group B
    5th — 1:56.97
  • Nadia LimMAS · Girls 200 Free, Group B
    5th — 2:07.15
  • Vivian Xin Ling TeeMAS · Girls 100 Back, Group B
    5th — 1:05.75
  • Jin Bin LeowMAS · Boys 200 Breast, Group C
    4th — 2:30.19

What's Next

Day 2 Finals follow this evening at the SAT Swimming Pool, Rajamangala National Stadium, with the 12th Asian Age Group Championships continuing through 21 July 2026. Full heat sheets, live results and photos from each session are available on the Heat Check and Gallery sections of the briefing page.