China’s Sun Yang roars to second Asiad gold

Chinese heavyweight Sun Yang battered his rivals to create history on Monday as the swimming goliath scooped the first-ever Asian Games men’s 800-meter freestyle gold with another monstrous performance.

Greeted like a rock star with high-pitched squeals from a excitable section of female Chinese fans in Jakarta, the triple Olympic champion claimed a runaway victory in a new Games record of 7 minutes and 48.36 seconds.

Sun, who blazed to the 200-meter title on Sunday, uncoiled his rippling two-meter frame to pull away over the second half of the race to leave Japan’s Shogo Takeda and Vietnam’s Nguyen Huy Hoang flailing in his wake.

“I was saving some energy for tonight’s relay,” growled Sun, who returned later in the men’s 4x200-meter freestyle relay final, where China finished runners-up behind Japan.

“The plan was to pick up the pace over the last 200 meters and it went well. That will give me confidence for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.”

After wining his first 200-meter gold in the Asian Games on Sunday, Sun said, “I can say it’s like a dream come true. I’ve waited eight years for this gold medal and not many swimmers have had to wait that long.”

China topped the medals on Day 1 on Sunday, winning four golds to Japan’s three.

Elsewhere, Japanese Olympic hold Rikako Ikee won her second and third gold medals of the competition in the 50-meter butterfly and 100-meter freestyle.

The 18-year-old, who lit up the recent Pan Pacific swimming championships in Tokyo, is expected to be a force in the 100-meter free and 100-meter fly at the 2020 Olympics in her home city.

Ikee breezed to victory in Monday’s one-lap race in a Games-best 25.55 – almost half a second clear of China’s Wang Yichun.

After setting a new competition best in the 100-meter free in helping Japan win the weekend’s 4x100-meter free, Ikee returned for swimming’s blue-riband event to duck under that record again, winning in 53.27 seconds from China’s Zhu Menghui (53.56).