China, Japan Levelled in Asiad Swimming Gold TallyAfter taking the third gold medal on Tuesday, hosts Japan finally levelled with arch rivals China in swimming gold medals standings after two days' competitions at the East Asian Games in Osaka.The Japanese quartet finished runners-up to Australia in the men's 4x200 meters freestyle relay. But the hosts still took the gold medal as Australians took part in the competitions with a guest status. The Japanese team was timed at 7:24.50, followed by China and South Korea in 7:32.85 and 7:34.11 respectively. In the previous four finals Tuesday evening, Japan dominated the men's events while China swept the two golds in the women's competitions. Yang Yu, a 16-year-old World Cup short-course champion, swam to 1:59.93 to win the women's 200m freestyle. Yang's compatriot Qi Hui, world record holder in the women's 200m breaststroke, won her specialty in a time of 2:25.33. Luo Xuejuan of China took the silver at 2:28.15 while the bronze medal went to Junko Isoda of Japan at 2:30.64. Japanese swimmers finished one-two in the men's 400m individual medley with Susumu Tabuchi winning the gold at 4:18.18 and Jiro Miki taking the silver at 4:22.08. Xie Xufeng of China was third at 4:22.52. Japan also took the only other men's event, through efforts by Takashi Yamamoto who clocked a winning time of 53.12 seconds in the 100m butterfly. The silver medal was taken by Chinese Ouyang Kunpeng who was timed at 53.68. Yoshihiro Okumura of Japan was third at 55.21. After the first two days competitions, China and Japan each won five swimming gold medals. |
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