Meet Zhang Zhanshuo: The 19-year-old who won seven golds at the Asian Games; from a kid who ‘couldn’t swim’ to a Chinese swimming star

At six, Zhang Zhanshuo was the youngest swimmer in a local competition and had barely begun learning the sport. At 19, he left the Asian Games 2026 with seven gold medals and a place in the record books. The Chinese swimmer became the first swimmer to win seven gold medals at a single Asian Games when he won the men's 400m freestyle at the Aichi-Nagoya Games on September 25. His seven golds also equalled the Asian Games record for the most individual gold medals won at a single edition, a mark that had stood for 44 years. He competed in eight events and won seven of them. His gold medals came in the men's 200m, 400m, 800m and 1,500m freestyle events, along with three relay titles. His 200m freestyle victory also produced an Asian record, while his 400m and 800m wins came in Games-record times. But Zhang's relationship with swimming began for a much simpler reason.‘A seaside kid’ who had to learn to swimZhang was born in Qingdao in May 2007. His mother had been a middle-distance runner for the Shandong provincial team, while his father had also competed in athletics when he was younger, according to reports from Chinese media Qingdao. His father, Zhang Xunshan, has recalled that the original idea was not to turn his son into a professional swimmer. They lived in a coastal city, and he felt that a child growing up by the sea should at least know how to swim.Zhang started learning when he was around five and a half to six years old. As reported by Qingdao News, he trained for about half a year before entering the 2013 Qingdao primary and secondary school swimming competition. He was below the minimum age for the competition, but that did not stop him from taking part. The result surprised everyone. The six-year-old Zhang, the youngest competitor at the event, won six gold and two silver medals. At that stage, there was little indication that the boy would eventually become one of China's leading swimmers.A year later, Zhang was selected by Qingdao swimming coach Liu Ziqian and began systematic training with the city team. Liu later recalled that Zhang was the youngest swimmer in the group, training alongside athletes who were three or four years older.His family came from sportZhang's parents understood the demands of competitive sport themselves. His mother had competed in middle-distance running for the Shandong provincial team, while his father had been involved in athletics. That background also helped his first coach recognise his physical potential. “When I took over, Zhang Zhanshuo was just over seven years old,” Liu told Qingdao Daily. “This child had talent from a young age because his mother had been a middle-distance runner for the Shandong team, and his father had also been an athlete when he was young.”Zhang's rise was gradual after that. He began making a name for himself at provincial competitions before breaking through on the national stage as a teenager.By 16, he had won two gold medals at the 2023 Chinese National Swimming Championships. In 2024, he was part of China's world-championship-winning 4x200m freestyle relay team.The swimmer who keeps coming from behindOne of Zhang's defining moments came during the men's 4x200m freestyle relay at the 2026 Asian Games. China was behind Japan going into the final leg. Zhang took over the anchor position and gradually closed the gap before overtaking Japan in the final stretch. His split was 1:42.92, and China finished in 7:00.17, breaking the Asian record. After the race, Zhang was asked about the dramatic comeback. His answer was short: “Normal, normal.” His teammate Pan Zhanle had a very different way of describing what had just happened. Pan, who had previously been Zhang's childhood hero and was his teammate in the relay, called him a “miracle child” after the race.Seven golds and a new recordZhang's biggest moment came four days later. On September 25, he won the men's 400m freestyle, setting a Games record and securing his seventh gold medal of the competition. After touching the wall, Zhang sat on the lane line and counted his medals on his fingers. “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7!” “Just after I got out of the water, I counted my gold medals from one to seven. I wanted to express that I had won seven gold medals,” he told the media.His seven golds equalled the record for the most individual gold medals won at a single Asian Games. The previous record had belonged to North Korean shooter So Gil-san, who won seven golds at the 1982 New Delhi Games. Zhang also became the Chinese athlete with the most gold medals at a single Asian Games.He still gave himself '85 out of 100'Despite the seven gold medals, Zhang did not describe his Asian Games campaign as perfect. As reported by Xinhua, he gave himself a score of 85 out of 100 and said he still had technical areas to improve, particularly his turns. Zhang said after the Games: “One step short of perfect.” He also made it clear that the seven medals were not where he wanted the story to end. “The Asian Games is not the goal. I'm still aiming for the Olympics and competing with the best,” Zhang said, according to the South China Morning Post.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.