Shin Ohashi, 17, breaks 200m breaststroke world record, becomes first man to finish under 2:05

There's a new record holder in the 200m breaststroke … and he's 17 years old. Japan's Shin Ohashi became the first man to break the 2:05 barrier in the event, winning gold Thursday at the Asian Games and breaking a record previously held by China's Qin Haiyang.

Ohashi got off to an extremely quick start, putting him on pace to crush the world record. While his second and third splits weren't as fast, Ohashi found an extra gear in the final split to finish the event in 2:04.83.

The previous world record in the men's 200m breaststroke was held by Haiyang, who posted a time of 2:05.48 at the 2023 World Championships.

Though young, Ohashi is already a major threat in the sport. After winning gold medals at both the Junior Pan Pacific Championships and World Junior Championships, Ohashi is a name to know ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

He's already feared among the competitors set to compete in the 2028 Games, with France's Leon Marchand admitting he is scared, excited and stressed to go up against Ohashi in 2028, per Olympics.com.

"I'm scared. I'm very scared of him," Olympic 200m breaststroke champion Marchand said of Ohashi, laughing. "He's still so young. His coach is really good. I think his entourage, the people around him, are really good, so I hope he's going to keep improving. "His breaststroke is amazing, and I'm very excited — also stressed about it — to race him."

"I'm scared. I'm very scared of him," Olympic 200m breaststroke champion Marchand said of Ohashi, laughing.

"He's still so young. His coach is really good. I think his entourage, the people around him, are really good, so I hope he's going to keep improving.

"His breaststroke is amazing, and I'm very excited — also stressed about it — to race him."

After Thursday's event, Ohashi said breaking the world record was his goal and he was " happy to get it ." With that box checked, Ohashi said his next goal is to win the gold medal at the World Championships, which will take place in Beijing in December.