200 m breaststroke, men

What to remember

Shin Ohashi swam the 200 m breaststroke in 2 min 04.83 s on September 24, 2026, in Tokyo at the Asian Games. With that time, the Japanese swimmer became the youngest man to break an individual long course world record since Michael Phelps in 2002.

His rise was quick. Named 2025 Male World Junior Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World, after five medals at that year's World Aquatics Junior Championships, he also became Japanese champion in all three breaststroke distances, the youngest ever to do so. At the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships he took silver in the 100 m breaststroke, improving his own junior world record.

At the Olympics, the men's 200 m breaststroke was first held in 1908 and the women's in 1924. It has also been on the program of every World Championships since the first, in 1973.