OLYMPIANS, INCLUDING SUN YANG, HIGHLIGHT DAY THREE OF ASIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

RENANG INDONESIA-DUBAI, UAE, November 17. SUPERSTAR Sun Yang was one of a few swimmers to shine today at the Asian long course swimming championships, including an Olympic medalist.

Sun, the Olympic champion and world record holder in the 1500 freestyle with a 14:31.02, won the event easily today with a 14:44.10. That time would have placed fourth in the 2012 Olympics. Fifty meters back in second place was Sun's teammate Hao Yun with a 15:16.22. Japan's Shogo Takeda took third with a 15:16.22.

Kozuki Kohinata of Japan swept the men's breaststrokes with a win in the 200 breast today in a time of 2:12.13, breaking the 2009 meet record of 2:13.56 formerly held by now-world record holder Akihiro Yamaguchi. His teammate, Kazuki Utsunomiya, finished second with a 2:14.68, and Nuttapong Ketin of Thailand was third with a 2:15.18. 

Zhao Jin of China also completed a breaststroke sweep when she won the 100 breast today with a 1:09.27. Korea's Sunyeon Back was second with a 1:09.71 and Japan's Misaki Sekiguchi finished third with a 1:10.46.

Lu Zhiwu of China took the gold medal in the men's 100 free with a 49.27, while Japan's Toru Maruyama finished second with a 50.82. Taking third was Tengfei Shi of China with a 50.89. Notably, Hong Kong's Geoffrey Cheah, a former sprinter at Stanford, was fourth with a 51.00.

China went 1-2 in the 400 free, as Xu Danlu took the title with a 4:05.75, demolishing the championship record of 4:11.46 by China's Tang Jingzhi. The time by Xu ranks 14th in the world for 2012. Finishing second was Shao Yiwen with a 4:10.88, also under the former meet record, and Thailand's Natthanan Junkrajang was third with a 4:14.59.

Chen Yin, who currently ranks fifth in the world with a 1:54.43 in the 200 fly from the Olympics, posted a 1:57.50 in the event today. Japan's Masato Sakai led for nearly the entire race, but settled for second with a time of 1:57.52. Taipei's Hsu Chi Chieh was third with a 1:59.68.

Lu Ying, the bronze medalist in the women's 100 butterfly at the Olympics with a 56.87, swam a 58.92 in the event today. Hong Kong's Hang Yu Sze took silver with a 1:00.07, while Rino Hosoda of Japan was third with a 1:00.14.

Cheng Feiyi of China, known mostly as a 200 backstroker, showed some speed by winning the 50 back with a time of 25.25, breaking Ouyang Kunpeng's meet record of 25.71. Japan's Takeshi Kawamoto took second with a 25.82, and China's Xu Jiayu was third with a 25.89.